All's Well that Ends
by IAmStoryteller
Summary: Midoriya Izuku, age 28,is the Number 1 Hero, Symbol of Peace, successor to All Might, and one-half of the Wonder Duo. Asta, age 28, is the Wizard King, the Anti-Magic Black Bull, the hero of War against the Elves, and Tamer of Devils. They were never to meet. CROSS-POSTED ON AO3, ONGOING WIP
1. Chapter 1 Reckoning Woods Pt 1

NOTE:

So this is my personal pet project that I had been stewing over for a few months. I doubt anyone is going to read this, but this is something that I want to write. It'll be a chapter a month while I get to some other projects, but this story will get done. This story is also cross-posted on AO3. It'll have same day updates.

If there's any trigger warnings for a chapter, I'll tag it in the notes at the beginning of the chapter as fair warning.

This story is going to more angst-ridden than what I normally write, albeit the first few chapters will be tame, but that's tagged.

OFC, I don't own My Hero Academia/Boku no Hero Academia and Black Clover.

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_Chapter 1 Reckoning Woods Pt. 1_

Asta blearily opened his green eyes. His head was pounding. He was laying on a bed of leaves and twigs on the floor of forest that Asta didn't recognize. Unfortunately, as he slowly sat up, Asta realized that he didn't know how he was here or what had happened. The only two things he remembered was his name and that he needed to be somewhere important. Shaking his head of dead leaves and twigs that got tangled in his spiky ash blond hair, Asta tried to recall what he had been doing before he woke up here.

"Hello," he called out loudly. He didn't hear anything.

Asta didn't hear anything in a forest. Immediately, he stood up and scanned the area. There were no birds, no squirrels, no rabbits and other woodland creatures that normally inhabited forests. "Strange." Stretching his arms up and to the sides, his headache was slowly going away. He stretched his back and then his legs.

After he finished his stretching, his hands unconsciously went to his side looking for his grimoire. "Oh, that's right, I'm a Magic Knight," Asta said to himself, remembering bits and pieces. "I wonder where it went." No grimoire meant no swords, and it also meant no anti-magic demon or Black form. He needed to find a town and some help to figure out how to get back to the right place.

Looking around once more to be sure that he didn't have anything but the clothes on his back, he headed north. If he didn't find a road or a trail soon, he'll just climb one of the trees to see if he was near anything. The only reason that he was not climbing the tree at the moment was due to being cautious about his memories.

It was rather unsettling to have bits and pieces of his memories coming back to him. He remembered his life in Hage and his childhood best friend and rival Yuno. And he also remembered joining the Magic Knights and the faces of some of his friends, but he felt that there was more since he didn't feel like he was a teenage boy anymore.

He just kept walking the forest, and remembering slowly as the pieces came together, going year by year like a play inside his head.

At one point, he stopped and had a mild panic attack because the sun hadn't move at all, and yet it felt like some time had passed already. Something very strange was going on, Asta mused to himself, as he continued his trek through the mysterious forest. No animals, the sun not moving, and it was too quiet.

He sighed heavily, as he stopped walking to lean on a tree. Asta debated with himself if he should just climb the tree and forgo caution until memories returned.

"Oh, thank goodness, I finally found someone else," said a voice, startling Asta. Coming out of the woods was a man about his height and age. The man had green hair (undercut with curls on top) and dark green eyes. There were a smattering of freckles on his kind-looking face. He looked as confused as Asta felt.

Asta grinned. "Hi!" As usual, he was louder than normal, but the green-haired man barely flinched. "I'm Asta. Are you lost too?"

"My name's Izuku," he responded. "I'm definitely lost. The last time I was in a forest was a very long time ago. Is your memory fuzzy too?"

"Yeah, you too, huh," said Asta. "Well, I don't know about you but it's really boring by yourself. I was just about to climb a tree to see where a town could be."

Izuku smiled. "I was thinking of doing that too. I wouldn't mind the company. I just really feel like I have to go home, you know?"

Asta nodded. "We need a big sturdy tree."

Together, Asta and his new companion looked for a tree that looked like it would be able to hold both of their body weights. His new companion was a mutterer. After a couple of times, Asta realized that Izuku wasn't talking to him, but instead to himself. Asta remembered many of eccentric people he knew, so it wasn't too weird.

"This should do it," said Izuku, patting a nearby tree that looked good enough to peer out over the forest. "Man, I wish I was able to fly right about now."

Asta wondered if Izuku was a wizard too. "I was able to use my sword to fly. So are you a wizard?"

Izuku shook his head. "No, I had a quirk. I can't feel it right now. But I'm under some suspicions that we both might be in the wrong world."

Asta didn't know what a quirk was, but he understood that Izuku might have a theory about where they were. "I wonder what kind of enemy did this to us."

Izuku stretched his arms, readying himself to climb the tree. "Someone that wanted us both out of the way."

And that was when Asta remembered as Izuku got a foothold on the tree. Asta was the Wizard King and his people needed him. Quickly following Izuku, Asta climbed up the tree. They reached the top and peered out above the treetops. There was forest for ages.

"Geez," said Asta, scanning the horizon for smoke or any indication of a town.

"Oh, Asta, over there," said Izuku, pointing west. "I see some lights, or er, energy beams, maybe?"

Asta looked where Izuku had indicated and saw the same thing—it looked like Patri and Licht's light magic, actually. "We go west, then!" Asta frowned as he realized that they were going to have to walk. Not only were they going to have to find food (even though Asta wasn't really hungry) but also a place to rest if it ever became nighttime.

Izuku must have realized the same thing because he said, "I wonder if without my quick, I would be able to…hmmm." Izuku continue to mumble to himself, leaving Asta to think too. It had been a long time since he had been without his grimoire and anti-magic swords.

As Asta was a training maniac who had no magic in a world full of magic and the only person able to lift the anti-magic swords due to both his magiclessness and strength, he might be able to swing through the forest faster.

"Well, there's no time like the present," said Asta, suddenly. He grinned at Izuku. "Are you up for it?"

Izuku just stared at Asta, until Asta jumped from the top of the tree they were on to the one next to it, heading west.

"Oh," said Izuku, as Asta jumped some more. Asta saw that Izuku quickly followed him. Maybe, they would be able to get to the town within a reasonable time-frame.

_~to be continued_

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ENDNOTE:

If you read this and liked it, let me know what you think about it.

You can also come talk to me on Twitter:

StorytellerAo3 (check profile for the link)

See you next month for an update.


	2. Chapter 2 Reckoning Woods Pt 2

Since Izuku woke up in the mysterious woods, his head had been out of sorts. His head hurt, he wasn't even hungry and he was lost. He was a city kid, through and through, despite playing in the forest as a child with Kacchan. From barely remembering his name to getting hit with memory after memory, he just wanted to take a nap.

He was thankful that he ran into Asta. Asta was loud (but Izuku was used to loud, as he spent so much time with Kacchan), but very cheerful and energetic. Izuku felt he had a better chance of figuring things out if Asta was there. Izuku was used to working in teams, as that's how the hero community adapted after All Might retired. So it was a good thing he and Asta decided to work together to find out what was going on, mused Izuku to himself.

The duo were taking a break, since they knew the general direction of where they were head. No use tiring out. After all, there might be enemies nearby. Since there were no animals milling around, they foraged for berries and some water from a stream. It did bother Izuku that there were no forest animals at all. The forest seemed oddly quiet without the noise of woodland creatures. At least, Asta was able to get a fire going, more at home in the wilderness than Izuku.

Asta asked, mid-chew of some berries, "Do think there is a town nearby?"

"I hope. Or at least, some other people," replied Izuku. He didn't want to say but Izuku had a heavy suspicion what had happened, as his memories came back. He remembered graduation, All Might's death, fighting against the PLF and bringing the organization down, facing All-for-One, become a proper hero duo with Kacchan, a bunch of his friends' weddings, and working to make the world safer. "So, your world is based around magic, you said?"

He needed not to dwell on the answer he knew his heart. It'd be interesting to get to know about Asta and his world more.

"Yeah, but I was born with no magic, whatsoever. I was the only person without magic," said Asta. "Still didn't stop me from wanting become the Wizard King, which I did. I had to learn things that other wizards didn't, due to me not having magic and using anti-magic as a counter."

Izuku nodded, in approval. "I was born without a quirk, but I was gifted one after proving myself to the number one hero. Turned out it was actually six quirks. I had learn how to use them in less than three years."

Asta stared and then, he grinned. "Sounds intense! Looks like you had a crazy life too."

"Yeah, I guess," said Izuku, smiling. "Isn't it strange that we both had similar beginnings and we get to meet now? We both started with nothing."

"Hard work, never giving up and pushing past your limits got me in a position to change Clover Kingdom," said Asta, like he's said it a million times before.

"Go beyond, Plus Ultra," responded Izuku. His school motto was etched into his bones. "I like the "surpass your limits." My teachers would have enjoyed it too."

"The captain of my original squad expected us to advance with every battle we had. I like that "Plus Ultra." That's so cool," said Asta. "I mean, it basically means the same thing, just a different way of saying it."

Izuku laughed. "Yeah, I guess you're right. So, a captain? Was it a military or police force you joined?"

"Oh, it's military," said Asta. "And I take it you went to a school for heroes? I actually had the Silva and Vermillion Royal Houses fund a Magic Knight school to train those wanted to take the Magic Knight exams. I thought it would make it easier to get more recruits."

"I guess hero school was sort of like a military school. A hero is someone in public service," said Izuku. Now that he thought about it, being a hero was a public service, just like the police and the military (in some places), so he supposed that hero was just another type of police or military person. Heroes were just flashier and more popular. "I think we had the same type of job, just with different names and powers."

"Protect everyone and defeat the bad guys," said Asta, simply.

"Yep."

They fell into silence, finishing up the berries they found, despite neither admitting to being hungry.

But then, Izuku _remembered._ He remembered _everything._ Izuku felt his chest tightened at the memories. Oh, Kacchan was going to be so mad at him, thought Izuku to himself. He looked over at Asta, looking paler than before. It looked like Asta remembered something similar too Izuku, because the other man's scowl went deep.

Izuku's suspicions were confirmed.

They were dead.

"So, we're dead, huh," said Asta, frustrated, while running his hand through the spiky ash blond hair of his. "What do you think? Heaven, hell or in-between?"

Izuku cleared his throat to stop himself from tearing up. While he was a grown man of 28 years and stopped crying all the time, sometimes the need was there. "I doubt it is hell. Doesn't look like any heaven I know."

Asta grimaced. "It's also possible that someone is messing with our heads, thinking that we're dead. After all, magic and quirks, anything is possible. If we're dead, there's nothing we can do about it. But if it's somebody messing with us, then we got to stop them and get back to our homes."

Nodding, Izuku stood up. There was not time to dwell on the fact that he may or may not be dead. (Izuku couldn't think about the people he left behind, nor the tears his poor mother must be shedding for him, yet again). "I think we need to find answers sooner rather than later. We should keep going. You ready?"

Asta hopped up and nodded.

"Damn straight. Let's do this," said Asta, hyping himself up.

Both climbed up two different trees and while the lights were no longer going, they knew they were headed west. Answers were what they needed and Izuku thought that the only way was to follow the lights.

Hopping from one tree to another without One-for-All was difficult but his body remembered the training he done to hone the skills. Asta kept up, no contest. The two didn't talk as they traveled the tree tops, which was good because Izuku was still processing everything in his head.

While Izuku didn't mind the adventure of new places and new people, all he wanted to do was go home and see his mother and his friends again.

_~to be continued_


	3. Chapter 3 The Town with No Name

The next few chapters are going to be cameo heavy from other series (majority WSJ manga, a few other manga I enjoy, and a couple of cartoons).

I'm not counting other BC or MHA characters as cameos.

Please enjoy

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"I see a town entrance," said Asta, pointing excitedly. They had been traveling through the treetops for a few hours. Asta was happy to see that they were getting somewhere. After the startling realization that he was dead, Asta knew that he had to keep a positive face. Who knew what was going to happen?

"Great, let's go," said Izuku.

His cheerful companion certainly helped Asta remain positive. Asta was better when he had someone with him. He never wanted to be able to stew too long in the darker thoughts in his head. The traveling companions climbed down the trees so they didn't look like crazy people when they approached the town.

Asta spotted the young woman at the gate. The dark long-haired girl wearing a red-and-white robe set. Asta nodded and approached the woman. "Hi! I'm Asta. This is Izuku. We were wondering if we can get some help."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "Sure. One question though. You two know what happened to you both right?"

"We're dead," said Asta, bluntly.

"Oh my God, don't say it like that, Asta," said Izuku, "but yes, we're dead."

The woman snorted. "Good. I'm Rei, also known as Sailor Mars. You'll get a rundown of everything at the Kurosaki clinic. It's straight down this road." She pointed to one of the three roads that branched off into different parts of the town. "Get checked out and you'll get the full story."

"Thanks so much for your help," said Izuku, giving Miss Rei a winning smile, yet she was duly unimpressed.

Asta grinned. "Come on, Izuku, let's check things out." Together, they headed down the road and after a few minutes, they spotted a clean and bright-looking clinic with the name "KUROSAKI" in bright red letters on the window. Izuku held open the door for Asta, so Asta went in first.

"Welcome! You must be new," said a cheerful voice.

Asta was hit with the sight of very beautiful woman with long orange hair, sitting at the desk, covered in papers and whatnot. "Hi! Miss Rei told us to come here."

"Of course, of course," said the woman. "Ichigo, dear! We've got two more!"

"Coming," called a male voice. A few moments later, a tall orange-haired man with a rather stern expression on his face came out of the backroom. Asta immediately liked the man. The older man gave off a calming aura. "Hi. I'm Kurosaki Ichigo, this is my wife Orihime, and you are?"

"I'm Asta," he said, pointing at himself. "The Wizard King of Clover."

"Midoriya Izuku," said Izuku, "also known as the Hero Deku!"

"Ah, a wizard and a hero," said Ichigo, as if he knew who they were. "Well, come on with me. And we'll get everything sorted out." Asta and Izuku followed Ichigo and Orihime into the backroom. It was less a doctor's examining room and more like a professor's office, like at the old Clover University Asta visited previously. There was a couple of desks, clearly one belonging to Ichigo and the other Orihime. "Take a seat."

Ichigo sat in his chair, but Orihime remained standing. Asta and Izuku did what they told and sat in the chairs.

"I'm gonna check you both over for injuries," said Orihime. Her hairclip suddenly glowed and split into five fairies, similar to Yuno's Bell.

"Wow, that's so cool," said Asta, "are you magic too?"

Orihime brightened. "I wish! Oh it would be so cool to be a witch or a wizard!"

"Orihime, focus," said Ichigo, amused.

"Oh, right," said Orihime, laughing. "No, I'm not magic. These were born out of my close proximity to a certain guy. But that's a long story." Orihime's fairies covered both Izuku and Asta in some sort of glowing barrier and any exhaustion Asta felt from walking for hours was gone.

Izuku hummed. "So, it's not exactly healing, but like reversing time? Wow, that's really similar power to a girl I know! Amazing!"

"Wow, that's really is awesome," said Asta, stars in his eyes.

Orihime blushed but smiled. "You two are so sweet! Ichigo, aren't they sweet?"

"Extremely," said Ichigo, a bit deadpan, but he wasn't bothered by two strange men heaping praise on his wife.

The glow of the barrier faded and the fairies went back to form the hairclip. Asta stretched his arms. "Thank you!"

"Yes, thank you," said Izuku, politely. "But we were promised answers by Miss Rei?"

"That's your department, dear," said Orihime, cutely skipping out of the room, leaving the three men in the office.

Ichigo cleared his throat. "Yeah, so it's been established that you know you're dead."

"Got that," said Asta.

"Yeah, when we were in the woods," said Izuku, nodding.

"Right, so there's no turning back. This isn't a trick by an enemy. Or a spell or a quirk," said Ichigo, sternly. Ichigo stopped talking to let them process what he just told them, or so Asta would like to think.

Asta breathed out. He was afraid of that being the case. While it's nice to think that this was all a mistake, Asta knew it. He died and he wasn't going back home. Man, Yuno was gonna be so mad him. Asta looked over at Izuku, who seemed to be taking as badly as Asta.

"Where are we?"

"You want the easy answer or the complicated answer," retorted Ichigo.

"Easy first, then explain it in detail," requested Asta. He may not be the brightest person in the world, but if something was explained clearly to him then he would understand.

Ichigo looked at Izuku, who nodded in confirmation. Sighing, the older orange-haired man replied, "You're in the Heroes' Afterlife. That's the easy answer."

"Heroes' Afterlife," asked Izuku, making a face, not liking the answer.

Asta didn't know there was more than Heaven and Hell. He was, of course, raised in a Church orphanage. He knew there were other realms (like where the devils came from), but other afterlives? Asta didn't know that, so he needed more to go on and asked, "Okay, so what's the complicated answer?"

"In the multiverse as a whole," started Ichigo, "there are many worlds like the world of Quirks you came from, Izuku, or the world of mana you came from, Asta, and so on. However, each of the various worlds, there are a set number of "afterlives." There are the classics—Heaven and Hell. Heaven is for all the good people. Hell is for all the bad people. However, and this is where it gets complicated. There's a place called Purgatory for those who aren't bad but aren't good, but can get into Heaven, if in the next life, they be good."

"That makes sense," said Asta.

"There's also places called Soul Society, King Enma's Realm, the Grand Kai Plane and so forth—these are the backbones to the afterlife. The Soul Society trains Soul Reapers, collectors of souls. King Enma passes judgement on the souls. Grand Kai and the other Kais watch over the various worlds. There's also Gods and their worlds, but let's not go there," continued Ichigo, who clearly had to explain these hundreds of times. "And then, there's here. The Heroes' Afterlife. A world with no enemies, and filled with endless possibilities. This place was created to give the heroes of the various world a chance to do something other than beat bad guys, save the world and sacrifice for everyone else. So we're told. What happens when a hero dies is they get a brief judgement from Enma and if deemed heroic enough, you get dropped into the Reckoning Woods. Memories are fuzzy at first and then, you realize that you're dead. This town with no name is usually the first stop for everyone. There are other towns and places in this Afterlife, you can go too."

Asta kept quiet, because some thoughts were forming in his head.

Izuku exclaimed, "A retirement home for dead heroes?"

Nodding his head, Ichigo said, "Trust me. It's a lot to deal with it when you're basically put out to pasture."

"So, everyone here were heroes of their worlds," stated Asta, "meaning that you saved your world or beat the bad guys. That means Miss Rei and whomever else we meet here are just like us."

"Exactly," replied Ichigo. "You won't really need to train. You don't even need to eat, though you'll miss food sometimes, so there is food. It's quiet and peaceful."

"So, what? You just find other things to do," asked Izuku.

"Basically. Orihime is a healer, so if anyone has any phantom pains, she handles them. I provide schooling for heroes who died when they were under the age of 18 and give the introduction talk to newcomers," said Ichigo, shrugging. "I mean, it's mundane and boring, but everyone here is going through similar things. You meet a lot of interesting people here. Any more questions?"

"So, what was that light show earlier," asked Asta. It was how they found the town in the first place. He and Izuku could not have been delusional and imagined it.

"Oh, Goddamnit, Goku must be training again," said Ichigo, rolling his eyes. "You'll meet Goku sooner rather than later. A word to wise, don't fight him, even if you think can take him, you can't, by the way, but he'll never leave you alone, if he finds out you're strong, always asking for a spar."

"Good to know," said Izuku, eyes narrowed. "Now what?"

Asta nodded. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Well, I'd start by going to the Uzumaki Ramen Stand," said Ichigo. "It's this town's most popular hang-out and I'm sure you'll love to meet Naruto. It's a couple of blocks west of the clinic."

"Well, that sounds like a start," said Asta. "Then, I guess I can figure out what I'm going to do in my "retirement.""

"I'll go with you," said Izuku, "even if we don't need food, some ramen sounds good."

"Enjoy. Say hi to Naruto and Hinata for me," said Ichigo, nodding.

"Thanks for your help," said Asta, getting out of the chair, shaking Ichigo's hand. Ichigo and Izuku shook hands, while Asta stretched a bit. "Come on, Izuku, let's head out."

Asta and Izuku headed out of the Kurosaki Clinic, after saying goodbye to Orihime too (and promising the sweet lady that they would come over to visit). As they headed west on the blocks, Asta observed the town, an eclectic architecture style, though in the grid system of town organization. There were a lot of shops—for anything you could think. It really did look like these people went back to hobbies that they did have time for when they were alive.

"I saw like seventeen bookstores," said Izuku, shaking his head.

"Yeah, between a tea shop, a coffee shop, a pastry shop and a witch shop," said Asta, nodding. "This is gonna be so weird. I don't know how to be anything than the Wizard King."

Izuku gave him a serious look, one that told Asta that Izuku _understood. _"All my life I wanted to be a hero, it's all I know."

Asta was silent, as they approached a small hole-in-the-wall ramen stand. The smell coming from the place was mouth-watering. They moved the curtains at the entrance and got stools. There was a raven-haired woman by the stove cutting up some vegetables and a blond-haired man who was chatting with the only other customer, raven-haired rough-looking guy.

"Ah, hiya, welcome. Your new faces," said the woman. "Did Ichigo send you over?"

"Yes," said Izuku, smiling. "I'm Izuku and this Asta. We kind of arrived at the same time."

"Welcome," said the blond-haired man. Once Asta got a good look at the man, he had three whisker-marks on both of his cheeks, making him look like a fox. "I'm Naruto, this is my lovely wife Hinata, and that hooligan is Yusuke."

"Hey now. I've haven't been a hooligan since my teen years," commented the other customer, laughing.

"Ignore them," said Hinata, smiling kindly. "What kind of ramen would you like?"

"Miso please," said Asta.

"Ah, chicken ramen please," said Asta. Yami had made ramen on the rare occasion he felt like outshining Jack at the Star Festivals.

"You bet, sweeties," said Hinata, turning back around and getting to their orders.

"Well, I'm out," said Yusuke. He grinned at Asta and Izuku. "If you guys need a place to stay while you figure your shit out, I run an inn just down the road! There's no money so it's free!" Yusuke ran out of the ramen stand, heading off.

"So, how did the conversation with Ichigo go," asked Naruto, smiling. "It's a lot to process."

"Well, I think," said Asta. "I just don't know what I'm doing to do know."

"Agreed," said Izuku. "I also want to know how he knew about quirks and magic."

"Oh, we get all kinds around here," said Naruto, laughing. "There's a lot of magic people kicking about, but fewer people with quirks."

"Order up," said Hinata, handing Asta a bowl and Izuku a bowl. "Enjoy! I'll make you some tea to wash it down."

"Hey-yo, Naruto, Hinata! A couple of miso ramen for us," called out a voice. It was a familiar voice to Asta, a voice he hadn't heard in years. The curtain moved and two more people entered the stand. "Asta? Is that you?"

"Licht! Lord Lumiére! You two are here," asked Asta, standing up and approaching the elf and the first Wizard King. He didn't think that he'd meet anyone he knew. He should have figured that they would be here!

"Asta, while I'm saddened to see that you've perished, I'm happy to see you here. We have to catch up. Let me know how my dear Secre is doing," said Lumiére Silvamillion Clover.

"And how are Patri, Raia, Fana and Vetto," asked Licht.

"Let the boy eat, you two," scolded Naruto. "Don't bombard him right away! Asta, sit and finish eating."

"Ah, forgive us," said Lumiére, "we haven't seen Asta in ages. We told you about him, Naruto! The young man with anti-magic!"

"Oh, that was some time ago, wasn't it," said Naruto. "You two showed up, oh, about 12 years ago, if I recall correctly."

"And who is this young man," asked Licht, as he and Lumiére sat down on the stools, referring to Izuku.

"That's Izuku, he's a hero! We met in the woods and came here together," said Asta.

"A Hero," questioned Lumiére and then he brightened even more than usual. "Oh, you must be Yagi's boy!"

"All Might's here," yelped Izuku, standing up. "Where?"

"Sit down and eat," said Naruto, firmly. "I'll send a message to old Yagi and have him come around. It looks like there's gonna be some reunions in order." Naruto stepped outside and came back a few minutes later. Asta must have looked confused. "Oh! Next door is a courier service."

"This is wild," said Asta, shaking his head. It was almost too much to handle. Poor Izuku almost looked ready to hunt down this All Might/Yagi guy down. Hinata served up more bowls of ramen, so everyone decided to eat, while Asta updated Lumiére and Licht on everything that happened since the battle again Zagred. It was nice to talk about home.

Once the ramen and tea was consumed, there was a bellowing voice, as a figure entered the crowded ramen stand. "I am here!"

"All Might!?"

* * *

Cameo appearances:

-Sailor Mars/Rei from Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon  
-Inoue Orihime and Kurosaki Ichigo from Bleach  
-Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Hinata from Naruto  
-Urameshi Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho


	4. Chapter 4 New Faces, Old Friends

Everything was overwhelming as Izuku was face-to-face with his mentor and father figure again, after so long. Izuku stared for a minute and then, he felt the tell-tale sign of tears welling up in his eyes. Izuku almost felt like he was sixteen again, as he burst into tears, ugly sobbing tears, as Izuku launched himself off the stool to hug All Might.

All Might looked like he did in his prime. It was amazing to see him in full health again. And All Might hugged him just as Izuku remembered. "Still crying after all these years, eh, Izuku?"

"I can't help it," said Izuku, still hugging All Might. "I've missed you."

"And I missed you as well, Young Midoriya," said All Might, eyes mysteriously watery himself. "Though, you aren't so young anymore." All Might patted Izuku on the head, despite it being a bit more awkward as Izuku was closer to All Might's height than back in high school.

"Haha, I guess," said Izuku. He tried to regain some of his composure. He wiped his face with his shirt sleeve. He grinned. "Are you hungry?"

"I can always go for a bowl of Lady Hinata's ramen," said All Might. "Ah, Lumiére, Licht! I see you're out and about on your daily walks."

"Yagi, yes, come join us. Asta was just finishing telling us about his battle with the devil Megicula," said Lumiére, cheerfully.

Izuku went back to his seat, a little embarrassed than he overreacted to seeing All Might again, but it had been so long. Second-year of Yuuei had been the worst. Losing All Might unexpectedly back then had been so hard. It was only Kacchan who got through to him at the end, the only other person who understood how much All Might meant to Izuku. All Might joined them on one of the stools.

"Honey, please go fetch more ingredients," asked Miss Hinata to Naruto. Naruto grinned, mocked bowed and disappeared into the back of the ramen shop. "We'll have stuff whipped up in no time!"

"Thank you," everyone said to her.

Izuku felt something poked his shoulder. Asta was trying to get his attention. "Yeah?"

"You ok," asked Asta, concerned, frowning. The way he looked at Izuku, Izuku wondered if this was how other people felt when Izuku looked at them—all warm, and safe. Izuku had a feeling that he could tell Asta anything and the other man wouldn't judge Izuku in the slightest.

"Yeah, I'm good," said Izuku, nodding, smiling reassuringly.

Asta smiled suddenly, switching off the concerned nature immediately. "Good!"

Thankfully, Naruto returned with more ingredients and the husband and wife duo made more ramen and tea for the group. It was a wonderful meal. Izuku had to thank Ichigo for suggesting the place for him and Asta. Just being with All Might again, it made Izuku happier than he had been since he learned that he was dead. He wondered who else was going to be here. It'd be amazing to see Nighteye, Recovery Girl, Gran Torino, and other heroes lost to those on Izuku's Earth.

"Thanks again for the food," cheered Asta, after finishing a fourth bowl of ramen.

"Yes, it was wonderful," said Izuku.

"You're welcome, dears, come back anytime," said Hinata.

"Absolutely," said Naruto, in agreement. "I'd love to spar with each of you. Though we got to hide from Goku."

"Asta, come with us! We have a little section of the town just for those from our world," said Licht. Lumiére nodded, happily.

"Sounds good," said Asta, hopping off the stool. Asta turned to Izuku. "See you around, Izuku!"

Izuku almost hated to see the cheerful man, who he only known briefly, go, but said, "I'll see you later."

Asta, along with his elf and wizard friends, headed out of the ramen stand, waving goodbye to Izuku and All Might. Izuku waved goodbye. "So, who else is here, All Might?"

All Might smiled. "Many that you know. Would you like to meet my Master?"

"The other One-for-All holders are here," asked Izuku. He had always wanted to meet them for real and not just interact with their spirits via OFA. "It would be an honor to meet her!"

"Good to hear," said All Might. Izuku and All Might said their goodbyes to the Uzumaki couple and headed back out to the streets. Izuku followed his mentor's lead. It was funny to think that people tended to crowd in bunches with people from their own world. Familiarity was comforting, especially with the knowledge you were dead and not going back.

He wondered how everyone living was doing—he knew that Kacchan was furious (probably cursing at Izuku's grave, but only because that was how he processed grief); his mother was crying; Uraraka, Iida, Todoroki and his others friends were devastated most likely. Izuku shouldn't dwell on it too much, otherwise the guilt was going to weigh him down. There was nothing he can do. Dead was dead.

"You're awfully quiet, my boy," asked All Might as they arrived at a street sign "Plus Ultra."

Seeing the familiar phrase made Izuku laugh, "I'll be okay. Don't worry. It's a lot to take in, I've not processed everything yet."

"Hmm, well, that's true," said All Might. "Ah, here it is!" It was a small house All Might entered, so Izuku followed him. "I'm back! Master, I brought someone with me."

Moments later, a familiar face appeared. Shimura Nana, the seventh OFA holder, stood at the door to the kitchen. She grinned. "Midoriya Izuku, it's an honor to meet you. Toshinori has told me all about you."

"The honor is mine," said Izuku, politely going over and shaking his mentor's Master's hand. "Though, we have met, or at least, I met your spirit because of One-for-All."

Nana laughed brightly. "Yeah, OFA is definitely weird like that! You can meet the other holders later. I'm sure that it's a bit overwhelming for you." She took them to the living room. "Why don't you tell me about yourself?" The living room wasn't big but it was homey and cozy.

"Okay," said Izuku, finding a seat. All Might and Nana sat down in seats too. "But, uh, did All Might tell you about Shigaraki, Miss Shimura?"

Nana nodded, sadly. "Yes, he did. But it's okay. You can talk about him."

"So, I guess this is the story about how I became the number one hero," said Izuku, awkwardly.

And so, he told her and All Might the entire story from the very beginning. It was a long story, after all, but it was a story worth telling.

* * *

Next month, you'll be getting two chapters with some big cameos! Let me know what you think!


	5. Chapter 5 A New Path Pt 1

Asta yawned, while scratching his stomach as he came down the stairs of the house. He entered the kitchen to have to blink away the tiredness from his eyes, as he had a momentary jolt at almost greeting Noelle like he was back at the Black Bulls' house. Instead of one of his best friends, he was entering a kitchen that had Noelle's mother Acier and Mimosa and Kirsch's mother Nickole, eating breakfast together.

"Morning," said Asta. After Lumiére and Licht brought him over to the section of the town that housed people from their world, Lady Acier Silva immediately invited Asta to stay with her. She and her sister wanted all the stories about their kids and Asta didn't have the heart to say no. Acier and Nickole were happy to hear the stories about their kids.

"Morning, Asta," said Acier, cheerfully. "How did you sleep?"

"Alright," said Asta. There wasn't actually day and nights, but it was good to keep a routine of having waking hours and sleeping hours.

"Today, I'm taking you to Odd Jobs," said Acier. "It'll help you figure out what you want to do, now that you have the time." Acier and her sister became blacksmiths. Lumiére and Licht got himself a workshop to invent things. The past few days, Asta was hanging around the other Wizard Kings. And while he didn't mind playing cards with them, Asta had always been an active person. He didn't need to train anymore, though he still managed to do his exercises, and it started to bother him inside that there was nothing for him to do.

"That's cool, I don't think I can be idle much longer," said Asta. "So, Odd Jobs, huh? What's that about?"

"Oh, well, basically, everyone's shops can use the extra help. It's been a practice to send the new arrivals to Odd Jobs for a while. The guy who runs it is kind of difficult, but overall, he's a good guy," replied Nickole, who looked exactly like her Acier, even though they weren't twins. Mimosa and Kirsch's mom had also been affected by the curse of Megicula. Kirsch, Mimosa and Noelle destroyed the demon as a result (Asta helped a bit).

Asta nodded, as he sat down at the kitchen table. A bowl of oatmeal was given to him. "It'll be a good chance to meet a lot of people. I'm kind of interested in meeting what kind of other people wind up here."

"Some weirdos for one," said Acier, playfully.

_Geez, maybe staying with them was a bad idea. I miss Noelle and Mimosa too much_, Asta thought to himself as he ate the food prepared for him. Noelle was one of his best friends, battle tested friends, someone that Asta came to rely on in battle. He didn't think he had gone too many days without seeing her in some capacity since he was fifteen years old. And then there was Mimosa, who grew into an exceptionally amazing healer and combat support specialist. With Mimosa in the Golden Dawn, Asta hadn't worried too much about Yuno being alone since the kind-hearted Mimosa would be there for Asta's rival.

Oh, there he went thinking about Yuno again.

He felt his throat get tight at the thought of his most important person. While he had been in this place for a few days and he thought he processed the fact that he was dead, there was a kind of longing sadness that settled in Asta's heart. He slowed eating so that he could get any tears under control.

"Hey, finish up! The sooner I get you to Odd Jobs the better," said Acier.

Asta finished the oatmeal as he was not one to waste food. "Sounds good!"

He and Acier left the little house and headed down the streets. Acier said, "Odd Jobs is on the edge of town, as he generally doesn't want to be bothered."

Asta thought the man he was about to working for sounded lonely. The nameless town was impressive every time Asta walked through it, there was always something to see. It was a town of people who didn't know what to do with free time. How many people here saved their world or worlds? How many of them were people who protected? How many were alone? Asta was happy to see some familiar faces. He hate to think if he was here with no one familiar with his world.

"Good morning, Lady Acier," boomed a voice. Behind them, there was All Might with the green-haired freckled-faced Izuku and Asta was glad to see the other man. Acier and Asta stopped walking to let them catch up. He hoped Izuku had been doing alright since that day at the ramen stand where Izuku burst into tears after seeing his mentor for the first time in what was probably a long time.

"Yagi! How've you been," greeted Acier. "Going to Odd Jobs too?"

"Yep, Young Midoriya is getting restless," said Yagi. "Ah, Young Asta! Pleasure to see you again."

"All Might, sir, and Izuku, glad to see you," said Asta, grinning. "You getting bored too, Izuku?"

"Yeah, you too, I guess," said Izuku, smiling sheepishly.

Together, they finally reached the small building on the edge of town, that had a haphazardly place sign that read "Odd Jobs Gin-chan." Acier wasted no time and entered the building. The door had a bell on it, but when Asta got a look around the room, it had a couple of couches and a desk.

There was a man sleeping on one of the couches with a book covering his face.

Acier hefted a sigh and shared a look with Yagi. Acier, as nicely as possible, went over to the couch to shake the man awake. "Gintoki, it's time to get up! We want you to meet the new arrivals."

"Gin-san doesn't want to babysit. Go away," mumbled the man, tiredly.

"Well I guess you don't want the cake I brought you," said Acier, who Asta realized had been carrying a bag.

The man quickly threw the book across the room and sat up. The white curly haired man had dead fish eyes held his hands out for the cake. Acier gave it to him. "If you help these two out, I'll get Miss Makoto to make you her cherry pies."

"You don't play fair, Acier," said the man. He looked at Asta and Izuku. "Name's Sakata Gintoki."

"I'm Asta," he said.

"I'm Midoriya Izuku," Izuku said.

"So, what were guys? Protagonists, rivals or dead heroic parent," asked Gintoki, shoveling cake into his mouth.

Asta didn't understand a word he just said, "I was the Wizard King and Asta was the Number One Hero."

"Ah, so protagonists," said Gintoki, grimacing. "Acier, Yagi, I want parfaits too, k, thanks."

"Of course, Young Gintoki," said Yagi. "Let's leave them to it, Lady Acier!"

With that Acier and Yagi left Asta and Izuku in the small office of the strange curly-haired man. Asta knew he had to make the best of it, even if his temporary new boss didn't seem too enthusiastic to help him or Izuku with anything. Their new boss was too busy eating the cake like he hadn't had food in days.

"So, what do you need us to do," asked Izuku, hesitantly.

"Yeah, whatever it is, we'll do our best," said Asta, who was no stranger to odd jobs or gopher jobs.

Gintoki scoffed, "You don't have to be so happy about working, guys. But the listing of current Odd Jobs are on the desk. Do whatever you want." With that he finished the cake and laid back down to go back to sleep. This man had no interest in helping or directing them.

Asta gave Izuku a worried look. Izuku shrugged. Waiting until they heard snoring from the white-haired man before they went over to the desk where there was booklet. Asta picked it up and saw that it was the listing of the businesses in the town and what they usually needed help doing as an "Odd Job." There was also shoved in there between the pages a receipt book and it seemed Gintoki was paid in sweets.

"Well, I know how to do farm work. And I've been forced to work food stands," said Asta, keeping his voice down so not to wake the sleeping man on the couch.

"These don't seem too hard or tedious," said Izuku. "Why don't we take a few Odd Jobs each? We got to find extra receipt paper and pens."

"Divide and conquer," said Asta, nodding, appreciating that someone valued hard work as much as he did. If they did three Odd Jobs each, it would fill up a solid 8 hours of work.

"Extra receipt booklets is in the top drawer of the desk," called out Gintoki, without waking. Who knew if he was even sleeping? "One of you bring me dinner at the end of the day. And get paid in full!"

Asta snorted. "You bet, Boss."

Izuku rolled his eyes, as he searched the top drawer of the desk for what they needed. Izuku helpfully wrote down each of their jobs they were taking for the day. With a list in hand, Asta and Izuku excited the Odd Jobs' office.

"Good luck! I'll see you later," said Asta.

"You too! Give it your best," said Izuku, encouragingly.

Asta grinned as he looked at some of the jobs on the list and decided to go to the Son Farm for his first stop.

* * *

Notes:

Cameos:

Sakata Gintoki from Gintama


	6. Chapter 6 A New Path Pt 2

After helping Miss Hinata with lunch preparation at the Uzumaki Ramen Stand, Izuku found himself covering the lunch breaks at the Vongola Boutique. The place was run by a man named Tsuna, who looked like he needed a nap, but considering the man's friends/co-workers were very rowdy, it made sense. Tsuna told Izuku that they had been his Guardians on his Earth when he ran something called the Vongola Familigia. Tsuna had brown hair and eyes, and seemed to be a few years older than Izuku and Asta.

The shop had a lot of clothes that didn't look out of place on the runway, as Izuku had seen Katsuki's parents' workroom at the Bakugou house. The clothes were organized by style the best Izuku could see, not that Izuku was good with fashion, as in his off-hours, he used to wear a t-shirt that said shirt on it. The height of fashion, everyone would tease.

"So," said Tsuna, as the shop was empty at the moment. He heard the bickering of Tsuna's Guardians in the backroom. "Being a Pro-Hero, what was that like?"

"Oh, it was great! I got to save and protect people. And I got to work with some of my best friends," said Izuku. "It was hard work to get to be the Number One Hero but it was worth it to see everyone's happy and content faces."

"I wasn't so lucky," said Tsuna, smiling bashfully, though he was a grown man, Izuku could see the hesitance and youthfulness in Tsuna's face. "Seems like you were mean to be a hero. I kind of just fell into it. I was meek and useless as a kid, and I hated fighting."

Izuku looked at Tsuna and said, "My hero name was Deku."

Tsuna gave him a weird look. "Seriously?"

"My childhood friend used to use it as an insult, but then someone told me that Deku sounded like dekiru, like "I can do it,"" said Izuku, "so I made it my hero name."

Tsuna laughed. "That's pretty awesome. I think that if there was a hero out there like you when I was kid, I would have definitely been inspired."

"Thanks," said Izuku. "Do you mind if I ask you questions about the town? I'm curious to know where all the clothes come from. And the food? And does this place run on a barter system and not monetary system. And does everyone train still? Why start shops and restaurants and cafes?"

"You're a curious guy, Izuku," said Tsuna. "Um, let's see. There's no money, so everyone trades goods and services. Like how I'm paying Gintoki in parfaits for your help today. The food can be grown in the ground, but I don't know the details how that works without animals."

"Makes sense," said Izuku.

"Yeah, I mean supplies and goods come on a ship that appears once every thirty days or so," said Tsuna. There's a path on the south side of town that leads to a bay where it arrives. There's no crew or anything. We figured it was a deity or something that runs this Hero's World."

"Oh, has anyone tried to figure out what was behind it," asked Izuku, deep in thought.

"Yeah, many of us over the years, but if we get close we just appear back in town," said Tsuna, shrugging. "It's better not to look too close."

"I suppose," said Izuku.

"As for the shops and cafes, I think if most of us don't have anything to do, we'll just get depressed about being dead and forced to retired," said Tsuna, grimly. "It's why everyone tries to help new arrivals so quickly. It's never good to let all those bad feelings fester inside you."

Izuku didn't respond. Tsuna was correct. While it was great staying with All Might and Nana and meeting other deceased Pro-Heroes, Izuku hadn't been idle since the last year of middle school. He had been happy to see Asta again. Izuku had worried that Asta was feeling similar things to him, but the other man seemed to be cheerful.

"And everyone trains in some way, though being dead means that most of us don't have our powers in the same way anymore," said Tsuna. "On my Earth, me and my people used something called the Dying Will Flames to use in conjunction with weapons. But we're dead, so we can't have them since he relied on our willpower to not die."

"So, it depends," said Izuku. "My quirk was one that was passed down so it makes sense that I'm Quirkless again."

"Yeah, I'm not sure how it works," said Tsuna. "You'd have to go those smarter than me for a better explanation."

"Thanks for the info," said Izuku.

"It's hard getting your bearings," said Tsuna, nodding knowingly. "Now, while I'll be paying Gintoki in parfaits, would you like new clothes so you don't have to wear your hero outfit anymore?"

"That would be appreciated, yes, thank you," said Izuku. He had been wondering if he'd be stuck wearing his hero uniform forever.

"We can pick something out before your next odd job," said Tsuna.

Then, suddenly the door's bell chimed and in entered Miss Rei from a few days ago and a pretty blond-haired woman. Tsuna smiled at them when they entered. "Miss Rei, Miss Minako, here for your weekly fashion show?"

"Tsuna, hi! Of course, you know it," said Miss Minako, the pretty blond-haired woman. She winked at Tsuna and Izuku. "Oh? You must be Izuku, one of the new arrivals! Rei, you didn't tell me he was so cute!"

"Don't harass the boy," said Rei, deadpan. She had a camera attached to a strap, which was hanging around her neck. "Tsuna, if you would let her at one of the collections, I'd appreciate it."

"Sure," said Tsuna, smiling, shaking his head fondly. "Go for it. Get ready, Izuku, it's about to be a storm."

And Tsuna didn't lie. Miss Minako took three hours to try on every outfit in the store. Tsuna, Izuku and Tsuna's friends who returned from lunch watched the entire store torn apart. Izuku had gone shopping with his female friends and he had never seen something like this. Miss Rei was taking pictures, while apologizing for the mess, though she made no move to help clean up.

But it was fun to see someone enjoy something so thoroughly and Miss Minako was a very sweet woman, who complimented everyone, though she was a little flirty towards one of Tsuna's Guardians (the tall dark haired one who had been smiling the entire time, Izuku thought he heard Tsuna call him Yamamoto). And then when Tsuna mentioned that he was giving Izuku a new outfit for all the help, Miss Minako and Miss Rei jumped at the chance to help dress him.

His new outfit reminded him of the time that his class at Yuuei did a play in a fantasy setting. They were comfy clothes. He bid goodbye to Tsuna as he had to get to his next job at a game shop. His hero uniform was in the Vongola Boutique's bag.

Izuku had been very glad to be busy, but as he walked to the next place, Izuku wondered if Kacchan and the rest of his friends were doing okay without him. He woke up this morning, thinking that he was back in his apartment that he shared with Kacchan and that he had work at the agency. It was jarring to remember that he was dead.

Everyone was really nice here and very welcoming and it was wonderful seeing All Might and the heroes that his world lost over the years, but Izuku longed to be home. He wanted to call his mom to check up on her. Izuku wanted to hear Kacchan's loud yelling and have Todoroki's stoic support. He missed Iida and Uraraka and the rest of his friends.

Sighing, he reached the game shop where a tri-colored haired man in too much leather was at the counter organizing cards. Izuku took a breath and put a smile on his face as he entered the shop. "Hi, I'm Izuku. I'm from Odd Jobs Gin-chan, here to help!"

"Hello, Izuku. I'm Atem. What do you know about card collections," asked Atem, who had actual violet-colored eyes.

"I used to collect hero trading cards," said Izuku, bashfully.

"Excellent, help me organize these."

Two hours later, Atem promised to get Gintoki his cakes to him by tomorrow as Izuku bid the former King of Games goodbye for the day. Izuku's eyes were burning as he headed back to the Odd Jobs' office. Who knew organizing cards would make his eyes hurt so much?

He entered the office to find Asta and Gintoki eating dinner and Izuku forgot that he was supposed to get food for his new temporary boss.

Thankfully, Asta was a good guy and said, "Izuku! I got some for you too! Man, was today busy or what?"

Izuku sat next to Asta on the couch opposite of Gintoki, as he seemed to like his space. Asta launched into telling Izuku about his day. Asta worked on the Son Farm with Goku, the same man whose training lead Izuku and Asta to town in the first place. Then, Asta met Miss Makoto at her shop and then worked the counter at the Cat's Eye Café. Asta seemed to have a good day.

In turn, Izuku told Asta about his day. Gintoki seemed to be half-asleep, but shoveling food in his mouth at an alarming rate, and not interjecting once.

"Oh, I have the receipt copies, Boss," said Izuku. "They're bringing their payments tomorrow."

"Me too," said Asta.

"Good work," said Gintoki, nodding, as Asta and Izuku handed the slips of paper to him. Sighing, the white-haired man said, "But you know, you two ain't gonna find what you what to do working for a guy like me. You're enthusiasm physically pains me, you know? If come again tomorrow, that's fine, but seriously think about what you like to do outside of training or fighting. Now, get out so I can sleep."

Asta and Izuku were effectively kicked out of the office. Standing outside of Odd Jobs' office, Izuku realized that he was still hungry. "He's kind of lonely, isn't he?"

Sighing to next to him, Asta said, "Yeah. But I think that if there were the people he cared about here, he'd get mad about it, because he seems like the type to sacrifice himself for the sake of others."

"I mean, that's why we're all here, isn't it?"

"Yeah," said Asta, nodding. "You wanna get some ramen?"

"Sounds like a plan since he took the rest of our food and kicked us out."

* * *

Notes:

Cameos:  
Sawada Tsunayoshi from Katekyo Hitman Reborn  
Yamamoto Takeshi from Katekyo Hitman Reborn  
(the other Guardians were mentioned in passing from KHR)  
Sailor Mars/Rei and Sailor Venus/Minako from Sailor Moon  
Atem/The Pharaoh from Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Sakata Gintoki from Gintama


	7. Chapter 7 Old Hobbies Pt 1

The next day, Asta ran into Izuku on the way to Odd Jobs. "Morning!"

"Good morning, Asta," greeted Izuku. "Are you getting used to traveling by yourself around town?"

"Yeah," replied Asta. Since Asta had a decent sense of direction, he was getting used to the structure of the town. Izuku was dressed in the new clothes he got yesterday from the Vongola store. It suited him in Asta's opinion. The clothes also made Asta think that Izuku would fit right into the Clover Kingdom. "Did you think about your hobbies?"

"Ah-ha, um, so it turns out that it's not a long list," said Izuku, laughing lightly.

"Oh, same," said Asta. "Wonder how annoyed our Boss is gonna be today with us."

"I'm sure it'll work out," said Izuku, positively.

They reached the entrance of Odd Jobs and entered to find that Gintoki was actually awake and eating egg-on-rice for breakfast. He looked up from his food when Asta and Izuku entered the room. "Oh, it's you two. I'm not feeding you breakfast."

"I ate," said Asta. Acier and Nickole cooked very well. (Noelle and Mimosa did not inherit that trait from their mothers. Asta's poor stomach can attest to that fact).

"Same," said Izuku. "So, we did what you said."

Gintoki blinked a couple of times, as if he didn't remember. Asta wondered if this guy was actually okay. Asta knew that he wasn't the brightest person but he remembered important conversations with people. "Uh, Boss, the hobbies?"

"Oh, right," said Gintoki, nodding. "And?"

"Er, collecting hero merchandise and writing hero analysis," said Izuku.

"Farming and writing letters," said Asta. Asta, after all, grew up in Hage Village, which was a farming village. Due to his strength from his training, he always helped out around town. Father Orsi always told Asta as a young boy that being a tato farmer would be Asta's backup plan, despite Asta's dreams of becoming the Wizard King.

Asta liked writing the stories of his adventures in letters. Sister Lily had saved all the letters and gave them back to Asta when he became Wizard King. In turn, he gave them to Marx and the former Wizard King Julius. They turned it into a book about Asta's adventures to become the Wizard King called quite fittingly "Black Clover." Asta didn't mind as it'd inspire others to go for their dreams no matter what.

"Those…are pathetic lists," said Gintoki, sighing heavily. Before Asta or Izuku protested, he continued, "But I thought as much. Asta, go to the Son Farm. Izuku, go to the Kurosaki clinic." He handed them two slips of paper. "Good luck."

Asta stared at the paper. The paper was for an apprenticeship at the Son Farm on a more-permanent basis. He leaned over to see what was on Izuku's paper. "Teaching assistant, huh?"

Izuku glanced over at Asta's paper. "So, Mr. Gintoki, it seems that you had us figured out."

Gintoki smirked. "I've spent enough time at the bars with people from your world to hear about you two upstarts. Asta, you're better at more physical labor to get rid of your excess energy, as you have trained your body since a very young age. Izuku, you've got a big brain that only thought of being a hero, so it's time to use your smarts. Goku and Ichigo can help you more than doing odd jobs with me."

Asta said, grinning, "Oh, so you do care." It caused Izuku to snicker.

"Don't push it," said Gintoki, rolling his eyes. "Now, go on, get out, you brats. I need to catch up on my sleep."

Asta and Izuku both bowed and said, "Thank you very much." Gintoki waved them off. Asta and Izuku left the office just as quickly as they entered.

"This will probably be better, to get into a routine again," said Izuku, smiling. "Good luck, Asta!"

"You too, Izuku," said Asta. "Say hi to Miss Orihime and Mr. Ichigo for me!" Asta and Izuku shook hands and went off in separate directions. Asta gripped the paper as he jogged in the direction of the Son Farm.

Yesterday when Asta did some work at the Son Farm, Goku had been a nice, cheerful guy, even if the older man got distracted often. Asta had to reject offers for spars four times. Without his anti-magic swords, he just had his unusual strength, but Goku can fly and shoot beams out of his hands. Asta was not quite up for sparring with someone as strong as Goku.

The Son Farm was the only farm in sight of this town. According to what he heard, other parts of this afterlife world did have other farms. When Asta asked where they got the seeds for the crops, Goku had just said that it came on a ship at the small port.

"Good morning, Mr. Goku," said Asta, waving at the older man. Son Goku was youthful looking older man. Asta had been shocked to find out that he was in his fifties when Goku died. Goku had a distinct look that would let anyone notice him right away.

"Ah, Asta, how are ya," asked Goku, waving at him. He was holding a spade in one hand. "Gin told me that you were coming to be my apprentice starting today! Thanks for the help."

Asta reached Goku's side to see that he was planting something new today. "Thanks for having me. I'm still adjusting to not being the Wizard King with 101 responsibilities as soon as I wake up. I haven't had this much free time in years!"

"Tell me about it," said Goku, chuckling. "Being dead can be boring as heck. I should know, I've died a total of three times!"

Asta stared at him. "You're joking?" Did that mean he came back to life not just once, but twice? How did a guy like Goku have a final death anyway?

"Nope," said Goku. "Ah, right, I forgot not all the worlds have Dragon Balls. Oh well! Anyway, today I'm trying to get the potato plants out. Farming here is so much easier than on Mount Pao, let me tell ya!"

Asta narrowed his eyes. "Oh, you mean tatoes."

"Yeah, potatoes," said Goku, tilting his head in confusion. It was clear to Asta that Goku didn't know the proper name for tatoes. How sad. "You wanna get dressed in some work clothes and follow me as I make the spots for the plants?"

Twenty minutes later, Asta was carrying a crate of tato plants as he followed Goku up and down the row. It was good to give his muscles a proper workout. Asta wasn't sure how it worked now that he was dead, but it made him feel better. "Hey, Mr. Goku, what did you do in your world?"

"Oh, well, train and fight most of the time," said Goku, shrugging. "There were martial arts tournaments and then bad guys that threatened my planet often. It was pretty hectic."

"Bad guys just gotta ruin everything," said Asta.

"Yeah," said Goku.

"How did you get into farming then," asked Asta, curious.

Goku laughed. "Well, Chi-Chi yelled at me to make money and so I farmed radishes to sell. If I gave her the money, she'd be okay when I went off to train."

"Your wife," asked Asta. Asta himself had never gotten married. His childhood fantasy of marrying Sister had long since faded. He thought that if he stayed alive more that he'd probably would eventually get married, though he didn't know who. There were only two people that made his heart skip a beat, which he had no chance with either.

"Yeah! Chi-Chi was the best cook," said Goku, stomach rumbling. "She definitely is the best wife for having put up with me! Thank goodness, she's strong. I mean, I'm not very smart, I didn't go to school, and the only thing I was good at was fighting. Farming was just a way to provide for my family."

"I guess since you were married, you have kids?"

"Yep! Two boys, Gohan and Goten," said Goku. "I've got a granddaughter too! Man, let's take a break, I'm hungry."

"I can't believe that you're a Grandpa!"

"Yeah," said Goku. "But being a grandpa is the best. I got to spoil her so much! With Gohan and Goten, it was different."

"Do you miss them," asked Asta.

Goku took Asta into his farmhouse kitchen. "All the time. But Chi-Chi is in Good People Heaven. Pan, Gohan and Goten are still alive. I know Zeno, so he lets me visit Chi-Chi."

"Who's Zeno?"

"The Supreme Ruler of the Multiverse," said Goku, without any hint of sarcasm. "He's a weird guy though. It's best I don't give him any more ideas. Last time, he hosted the Tournament of Power, the multiverse was almost wiped out."

Asta stared at Goku. "You've lived a weirder life than me."

"AHaha, probably," said Goku, cheerfully. Goku made a lot of rice, so that's what they had for lunch (with sides of vegetables). "What about your family? I bet you're missing them."

Asta sadly smiled. So, over their rice and vegetable lunch, Asta told Goku about his family in Hage and his family with the Black Bulls. He wound up talking a lot about Yuno and Noelle.

"Having a good rival is great! Especially if you're friends with them," said Goku, approvingly. "Your friends sound like they're really strong."

"They are," said Asta, fondly.

After lunch, they went back to finish up the tato planting. It took the rest of the afternoon, but it was enjoyable work. Or rather, it was just something that kept Asta busy. As they ate some more rice with vegetables as a snack, Asta asked Goku, "Are you happy here, doing this?"

"Well, not really. There's no reason to get stronger anymore, so training's not as fun," said Goku. "The other two times I died, I got a choice where I got to go, but this time, I got shoved here and I just have to make the most of it. It's harder for a lot of other people. I've always taken life as it comes, so I think I can handle most any situation. Look on the bright side, Asta, you're not alone. And if the people in your world had to keep up with you, I'm sure they are more than capable of handling things."

Asta nodded, as Goku ruffled his head. "Thanks."

"Sure. Are you coming back tomorrow?"

"You bet! Teach me well, Mr. Goku!"

* * *

Notes:

Cameos:

Sakata Gintoki from Gintama

Son Goku from Dragonball Z/Kai/GT/Super

(If anyone cares)

So, a note on Goku, he was the very first shounen protagonist that I had been introduced to when I was a young girl, so he's got a special place in my heart as a character and a protagonist BUT he's hard to write. His stupidity had been highly exaggerated, especially in Super (which is fun, but it feels like someone is a Vegeta fanboy on the animation or writing staff). But canonically he knows how to farm (just because he's not book smart does not mean anything) and he does love his family and his wife-I'll die defending that hill. After all, DB franchise is a fighting series, not focused on slice-of-life stuff.

THANKS FOR READING!

let me know what you think


	8. Chapter 8 Old Hobbies Pt 2

After departing from Odd Jobs and wishing Asta good luck, Izuku found the Kurosaki Clinic easily enough again. When he entered it, like that first day, Miss Orihime greeted him cheerfully.

"Ichigo is waiting for you, Izuku," said Orihime, smiling brightly. She looked to be eating some very strange food combinations.

"Thanks," said Izuku, bowing his head slightly. He went to Ichigo's office. He knocked on the door to be polite and heard the orange-haired man call him inside. Izuku entered the office. Today, there were books everywhere. And Ichigo had a big scowl on his face. "Hey, Mr. Ichigo, are you ok?"

"What? Oh, this is just my face," said Ichigo, waving off his concern. "Glad you made it. Gin can read people pretty well so we send newbies to him and then he figures out where they'd be best."

"Teaching assistant, huh? I remember that you said that you taught the ones who were still kids when they died," said Izuku, finding a seat under the piles of books.

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "I also teach some of the adults who never got a proper education, if they want to learn new things."

Izuku nodded. "It'd make sense if mostly everyone here spent most of their life fighting."

"Exactly," nodded Ichigo. "I have a few people that help me out but they are usually off doing other things. So, today, I wanted to give you some books on teaching and books to help you brush up on some subjects. You can read those in your spare time."

Izuku nodded, hands itching to have a notebook and pen. As if reading his mind, Ichigo produced a notebook and a package of pens. Flushing he took the items, but asked, "How'd you know?"

"Yagi told me," said Ichigo, pleasantly. "Anyway, right now I'm going to tell you about the students I have. I'm gonna also tell you about my adult students too."

Izuku opened the notebook and pulled out a pen. "I'm listening."

"Great, I'm going to start with my most difficult student," said Ichigo, eye twitching. "Lambo is one of Tsuna's Guardians. Lambo is a teenager, very belligerent and lazy."

"Poor Mr. Tsuna," said Izuku. "Wait, is he the one with the horns?"

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "Lambo's struggles the most with math. Science is his strongest subject, surprisingly. And he won't read anything, so that's a challenge."

Izuku tapped the pen on his chin. "Education is optional for everyone, right? Then, he doesn't have to do it, if he doesn't want to."

"Except Tsuna ordered him to get a proper education," said Ichigo.

"Oh," said Izuku. "I remember Tsuna mentioning something about his Guardians, but I didn't ask what that meant."

"Tsuna was a mafia boss," said Ichigo.

"I'm sorry what? I thought Tsuna ran something called the Vongola Familigia," asked Izuku, confused. Tsuna, a kind, gentle man, couldn't be a mafia boss, no way.

"What did you think Familigia meant? It's slang Italian for a crime family," said Ichigo, amused. "Although, Tsuna managed to change it into a vigilante group and used its forces for good. Anyway, Lambo was Tsuna's Lightning Guardian and Tsuna had been responsible for him since he was five."

"Okay, that makes more sense," said Izuku, relieved. Then again, Tsuna wouldn't have been here with his Guardians if they were bad people. "So, Lambo is bad at math, hates reading but is good at science."

"Yup," said Ichigo. And thus, Ichigo continued telling Izuku about all his students. They ranged from superheroes, ninja, demon slayers, detectives, retired soul reapers, magical girls, pirates, adventure hunters, wizards and witches and of course, aliens. Izuku's head was swimming with the amount of kids and adults that never got a chance to have an education because they were too busy saving the world. Granted, Izuku had been a Pro-Hero with a singular focus, but he got a regular education alongside his hero training at Yuuei.

"It's sad, isn't it," said Izuku, after Ichigo finished.

"What's sad," asked Ichigo.

"That there are kids that never got to live their lives, who never got to grow up," said Izuku, shaking his head.

Ichigo frowned. "It's rough. I'm not gonna lie. Some people just don't have the luck to live long lives. Granted, I have no room to talk because I died three times."

"Are you serious," yelped Izuku. "How did you manage that!?"

"Well, when I was fifteen, I took up a soul reaper's offer of borrowing her power to protect my family and took a sword to my heart. Thankfully, the power transfer worked, due to my unknown lineage at the time. And there was a time where I got a hole in my chest trying to save, well, I was trying to save Orihime," replied Ichigo, making a pinched expression. "My will to protect her sort of activated something in me and I survived. And the third time I died was what got me here."

Izuku stared at him. Sure, Izuku had been close encounters with death before he actually died, but that was just ridiculous. How strong was Ichigo? It was truly baffling.

"If I think about it too much, I get depressed," said Ichigo, after a moment of Izuku just staring at him. "I'd rather take a hundred deaths than fail to save someone."

And that was something that Izuku understood. He broke his body over and over again to get stronger so that he was able to protect everybody. "I get that."

"And how are you doing with everything," asked Ichigo. "Being reunited with familiar faces must be strange. Have you been making friends?"

"It's weird and I'm still processing, so having things to occupy my time is a good thing," said Izuku, sighing. "Me and Asta are definitely friends. And he's a good guy."

"Good, but remember that I'm here if you need to talk. Or you can talk to Naruto, if he makes you more comfortable, or even Tsuna," said Ichigo, nodding. "Or if you don't want to talk to any of our ugly mugs, Orihime has always given me good advice."

Izuku grinned. "I'm happy to know that there are people I can talk to here." Except, the person that Izuku always sought out for advice or anything was Kacchan. He hoped Kacchan wasn't too mad at him. Izuku'd find out when Kacchan died (hopefully, a long time from now). "So, I've got the names and information on the students. And books to read. Now what?"

"I'm gonna send you to collect Hotaru and Chibiusa's homework, since they are my easiest student to handle. Tell them to be here tomorrow morning, the usual time," said Ichigo. "I've got everyone else. Also, get some lunch for yourself too."

"Okay," said Izuku. He put his notebook, pens and the books Ichigo gave him in the bag that had come with the outfit that Tsuna gave him. "I'll see you later."

Izuku departed from the Kurosaki Clinic and headed to Miss Makoto's Jupiter Cakes, as he was told that was where Hotaru and Chibiusa spent most of their free time. He wondered if he should get a cake to bring home to Nana and All Might. Jupiter Cakes was nearby Kurosaki Clinic, not too far from the Uzumaki Ramen Stand. He didn't realize that he passed the place many times.

He entered the shop. There were some strange people eating sweets and cakes at the tables, from six-foot tall extremely muscled men who barely fit on the chair to beautiful, ethereal women to non-human creatures who sat on the table while they ate. Izuku went to the counter and found Miss Rei there.

"Well, hello, Miss Rei," said Izuku. "I'm here to pick up Miss Hotaru and Miss Chibiusa's homework for Mr. Ichigo."

"Hey," said Rei, nodding. She turned her head and yelled in the back. "OI! Someone get the kids! Homework hand-in!" Several of the customers snickered, as if this was a regular occurrence. "Oh, shut up, JoJo, Yuuko!"

"Never change, Lady Rei," said one of the giant muscled men.

"Ahh, reminders of home," said the pale, very long black-haired woman. "All the yelling and fussing."

Izuku didn't say anything, as he heard the tell-tale sign of running. From out of the kitchen, there was a pink-haired girl (Chibiusa) and a raven-haired girl (Hotaru). The pink-haired girl asked, "Awww, where's Ichigo?"

"Sorry, he sent me today," said Izuku, politely. "I'm Midoriya Izuku, it's very nice to meet you, Miss Chibiusa, Miss Hotaru."

"He's new here," said Miss Rei, explaining to the two girls. "Be nice to him."

Both girls stood and bowed. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Izuku."

Izuku laughed awkwardly. "You can call me Deku. Do you have your homework?" The girls nodded and handed over some folders. "Mr. Ichigo wanted me to remind you that you have lessons tomorrow morning."

"We'll be there," said Hotaru.

"Yes! We will," said Chibiusa. "Ichigo is the best!" Izuku couldn't but smile, reminded of Eri, his surrogate little sister.

"Oi, brat, I told you to call him properly," said a high-pitched voice, exiting the kitchen with a tray of bunny shaped sweet buns. She was a blonde woman with her hair in meatball buns. "He's Mr. Ichigo to you. Have some respect!"

"Aww, shut up, Mama," said Chibiusa, rolling her eyes. "This is my mom, Mr. Izuku. Tsukino Usagi, Sailor Moon."

Usagi smiled brightly at Izuku. "You're going to be helping Ichigo out, huh? Good luck! Say, did you eat lunch? I'm sure Mako can make you something."

"Not everyone is as obsessed with food as you," said Rei, scoffing and rolling her eyes. But then she said, "Mako likes cooking so if you want something to eat, she can make it."

"Thank you very much," said Izuku. "I'll take you up on your offer then."

Izuku had lunch with the Sailor Scouts, Chibiusa's dad Mamoru, a man named Jonathan Joestar (known as JoJo), and the witch Yuuko. It was interesting to say the least. Miss Makoto's food was amazing. The fact that she operated a bakery, but also knew how to make amazing savory foods was impressive. Everyone was very welcoming, though Yuuko gave him some strange looks that reminded Izuku of some sort of pity but also knowing something that Izuku didn't.

After lunch, he returned to the Kurosaki Clinic to hand over the two girls' homework to a very annoyed and stressed Ichigo. He was complaining to a very sympathetic Orihime that "Morro went off on his own again, that kid!" Izuku spent the rest of the afternoon helping Ichigo grade homework and then starting one of the books. Orihime joined them in the office, telling funny stories that made Ichigo smile and Izuku laugh.

The easy companionship and love between Ichigo and Orihime was precious. He saw it with Naruto and Hinata too. It was good to see that some people didn't lose their significant other. He didn't know how he'd have handled a separation if he had a partner like that in his life.

Before Izuku knew it, it was nearing dinnertime.

"Come back tomorrow morning and you can sit in the lessons with the kids tomorrow," said Ichigo. "We have night lessons with the adult students, tomorrow night too, so bring some food."

"Got it," said Izuku. He made a note to ask Nana to make him a couple of lunch boxes or if he could use her kitchen. He bid the Kurosaki couple goodnight and headed out. He decided that he was going to stop at the Uzumaki Ramen Stand for a bowl of ramen before heading back to his temporary house with Yagi and Nana.

He spotted Asta from a block away entering the stand. Izuku quickened his pace, wondering how Asta's day at the Son Farm went.

"Evening, Izuku," said Naruto, placing a bowl in front of Asta. "What kind of ramen do you want?"

"Chicken, please," said Izuku, sitting down. "Hey, Asta, how was your day?"

"Great! I'm getting into the swing of farm work again," said Asta. "Mr. Goku's super nice. I think he's kinda lonely though."

"Ah, yeah, Goku is definitely lonely," said Naruto, sighing, as he placed a bowl of chicken ramen in front of Izuku. "He's also irritated that he can't go training with Vegeta."

"He mentioned that," said Asta, nodding. It seemed that while there were some that were lucky to have people they knew with them, others were not so lucky like Goku and Gintoki. "So, how was your day, Izuku?" Asta took another slurp of food.

"Good, very informative," said Izuku. "Mr. Ichigo's very thorough. I'm sure that I'm going to be occupied with students soon. It's strange that I have never seen myself as a teacher, but I'm reminded of my great teachers from Yuuei. So I hope I do well."

"You two will be just fine," said Naruto, smiling, giving them tea cups. "Make sure that you take time for fun things too. There are movie theaters and game shops and things. And everyone's got a story here that we don't mind telling."

"What's your story, Mr. Naruto," asked Asta, curiously.

Izuku nodded. "Yeah, you weren't a ramen chef to get here."

Naruto laughed and scratched his cheek, making him seem more youthful. "It's a long story, boys. Fair warning."

"Who has a story that isn't long," replied Izuku.

"Yeah, yeah," said Asta.

"Alright," said Naruto. "Tuck in to your dinner and I'll start the story."

* * *

Notes:

Cameos:  
Kurosaki Ichigo and Inoue Orihime from Bleach  
Sawada Tsuna and Lambo from Katekyo Hitman Reborn (mentioned)  
Tsukino Usagi, Hino Rei, Chibiusa, Tomoe Hotaru, Kino Makoto from Sailor Moon  
Jonathan Joestar from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure  
Ichihara Yuuko from xxxHolic  
Morro from LEGO Ninago  
Uzumaki Naruto from Naruto

Let me know what you think!


	9. Chapter 9 Trading Stories Pt 1

A few weeks of routine, Asta felt much more comfortable. He got up every morning at 5am, worked at the Son Farm until 4pm, ate dinner at a restaurant (more often than not, they ate at the Uzumaki Ramen Stand or Miss Makoto fed them), the majority of the time with Izuku and sometimes with a new friend he met.

He liked the dinners with Izuku the best, since their companionship came easy to them. Izuku didn't mind that Asta got loud often, mostly due to his strong enthusiasm but also because his hearing hadn't been the best when he was alive, but it seemed that being dead gave him full hearing back. Asta was still adjusting to it.

After dinner, they walked around the Town with No Name, just to explore and see what kind of things there was to do. If Izuku was at night lessons tutoring, Asta went to the bar to hang out with Yusuke, JoJo, Gintoki, Tsuna and some others. Asta didn't like eating alone or in quiet—he was far used to chaotic dinners, be it from his time in Hage Village or with the Black Bulls or at the Magic Knights headquarters where he lived as the Wizard King.

They passed several magic shops that Asta intended to visit, when Izuku said, "I've been thinking about the story that Naruto told us."

Asta looked over at Izuku and said, "Yeah, it was pretty wild, considering it took him five days to tell us everything. My head spins when I think about it."

Izuku laughed in his quiet way. "It's an inspiring story, isn't it?"

Nodding, Asta agreed. "Yeah. He went through a lot, achieved his dream, got married to the love of his life and had a family."

"Someone should write it down," said Izuku. "I mean, I'm surprised that no one is going around and writing down everyone's stories."

"Maybe," said Asta, curious. "But maybe for some of them, it's hard to talk about. It's weird to talk about yourself."

"Agreed," said Izuku. "It was just a thought." They found themselves at a small park that reminded Asta of the courtyards of the three Royal Castles. There were benches and a playground. Asta, himself, never played on playgrounds, but he had paid for one to be built in Hage Village for the kids (much to Yuno's irritation, because he wanted to do it first).

"You like writing, don't you? Why don't you write down Naruto's story first? Or I can just tell you my story," said Asta, half-serious. While they had traded small stories about their lives, there was much they didn't know about each other. Asta thought it'd be a good thing for someone to hear his entire story, because not even the other heroes from his world knew it. Miss Acier, Licht, and Lumiere were all great, but there was disconnect which made Asta self-conscious to say too much.

Izuku looked at Asta with his curious green gaze. "You'll tell me?"

"Yeah," said Asta. "I'll tell you, if you tell me your story after."

"Deal," said Izuku. They shook hands to seal the deal.

Asta sat on one of the benches and patted the spot next to him. He grinned at Izuku. Izuku joined him on the bench. As there were no proper nights, there were still people milling about—kids who shouldn't be here yet but were, old battle couples holding hands on their daily walks, or groups of friends having picnics.

"Well, I'll start at the beginning," said Asta, thinking. Should he start with the story of the demon attack (AKA the transformed Licht) or rather when Asta and Yuno were taken in by Father Orsi? Figuring that the whole elf thing would come up later, Asta began speaking, "I was left on the stoop of a small Church in Hage Village of the Clover Kingdom. In the Clover Kingdom, magic was everything and class structure was born from the belief that the noble class who had naturally high magic levels were superior. Hage was in the Forsaken Realm, the poorest of the three realms of the kingdom. Hage produced mostly tatoes and farm work was everything there. The day I was left, there had been another baby left there. Yuno, my best friend and rival, had been dropped there to save his life as he was actually the Prince of the nearby Spade Kingdom, but we didn't find this out until we were almost seventeen. Anyway, Yuno and I grew up side-by-side under the care of Father Orsi and Sister Lily."

"So, you were an orphan," asked Izuku.

"Yeah," said Asta, nodding his head. "But I had a family, so I didn't miss my parents. I never missed my parents. I never found out who they were, even if Yuno found out. I figured that my parents really couldn't keep me and thought the Church would take better care of me."

"That's a mature take," said Izuku.

"It wasn't something that I could help," explained Asta. "Like I said. I had my family there in Hage with Father, Sister, Yuno and the younger kids. As Yuno and I grew up, we learned that I didn't have magic and Yuno had strong wind magic. It makes sense in hindsight that he was a Prince, since he was always a perfect handsome jerk."

Izuku chuckled. "Yeah, I know that feeling."

"Oh, your rival was a perfect handsome jerk too?"

"Well, not perfect, but an amazing handsome jerk."

Asta laughed. "So, I thought that if I trained my body enough, I'd get magic someday. You see, everyone in Clover receives their grimoire in their 15th year. I trained and trained."

"Hence the muscles," muttered Izuku.

Grinning, Asta said, "Thanks." Asta knew he skipped that story where he got his ass beat by that thief of an adult for Yuno, but that was something private, the moment that he and Yuno first vowed to be Wizard King. He'd tell Izuku someday, but he'd rather just skip to when he got his grimoire and joined the Magic Knights. Izuku was looking at him expectantly, so Asta continued his tale, "So, as I was saying…"


	10. Chapter 10 Trading Stories Pt 2

It took ten three-hour long after-dinner conversations for Asta to get to the point of his story where he became the Wizard King. Izuku had been enraptured by Asta's tale of magic, demons, elves and how Asta overcame a lot to prove everyone wrong. The fact that Asta not once, not twice, but three times almost lost use of his arms, but persevered through was stunning. Who knew that he and Asta would have so much in common?

"My work as the Wizard King was pretty boring in comparison to my journey to that point. I spent a lot of time arguing in the Magic Parliament and doing paperwork to do the proper changes necessary for the Magic Knights. Since I saved the Kingdom so many times, I made friends with the younger nobles and royals, so when they took over for their parents, we changed a lot of things. When the Crown Prince took over for King Augustus, it was a day that had most crying tears of happiness. Things got so much easier after that," finished Asta, grinning. And from what Asta said about the King when he was a Magic, Izuku knew that it had been the best choice for the Clover Kingdom.

"It's still so amazing," said Izuku, sighing. "If I knew someone like you as a kid, I would've been way braver."

"Well, we would've been friends, just like we are now," said Asta. He was so certain and it made Izuku happy to have met him, even if they were dead.

"I'm glad it all worked out," said Izuku. "Guess Yuno had to be content with the Captain of the Golden Dawn spot."

"And the Captain of the Royal Knights and my main advisor," said Asta, rolling his eyes at the thought of his best friend/rival. "I'm sure he's the Wizard King now that I'm gone. He's suffering under mounds of paperwork, I hope."

Izuku laughed lightly. Asta hadn't told him the story about the day he died and Izuku didn't blame him, even if Izuku wanted to know. "So, I guess it's my turn?"

"Yep, yep! I can't wait to hear how you became a hero," said Asta.

His positivity was infectious, and Izuku said, "Alright, we'll start my story tonight, but it's a long one too."

"I'm all ears. I'll make you some roasted tatoes tomorrow," said Asta.

"Sounds good," said Izuku. Asta had taken his time at the Son Farm seriously and began cooking the food harvested. And Izuku ate almost everything, so he was a good test taster. Clearing his throat, Izuku began his story. "All men are not created equal. This was the reality I learned about society at the young age of four. And that was my first and last setback."

Asta gave him a look because he knew exactly what Izuku was saying.

Izuku sighed, and continued, "It all began in China, Qingqing City. There was news that a baby that gave off light was born. Ever since then, superpowers were discovered in various places, and time passed without the cause being identified. Before we knew it, the supernatural became normal, and dreams became reality. The world has become a superhuman society, and about 80% of the world's population now has some kind of special trait. In this world swirling with chaos, the profession that everyone once dreamed about and admired came into the limelight. It was the age of heroes."

"And that's what you wanted to be since forever, huh?"

Flushing, Izuku glared at Asta to let him continue the story, "Along with the superpowers came an explosive increase in crime. As the country was stuck in the slow progress in drastic law reforms, courageous people started performing heroic acts from out of comic books. Guarding against superpowers and defending against evil. Heroes were soon accepted by the public, and it was established as an official position. Based on their performance, they are paid by the government and gain renown among the masses. And the greatest of these heroes was All Might."

"Haha, I shoulda figured you'd get to why you are Yagi's number one fan," said Asta, teasing but not mean.

Izuku laughed. "Well, yeah."

"Okay, okay, continue. So All Might was THE hero," said Asta, prompting Izuku for more.

"When I was four, I discovered that I had an extra toe joint which meant I was Quirkless in a superpowered society, but that didn't make me want to be a hero any less," said Izuku. He smiled fondly, memories of his life flashing in his head as he spoke. "But I thought there was nothing I could do about not having a quirk. In hindsight, I should've trained my body like you, but everyone constantly telling me that I should give up really did something to me. If someone had believed in me before I met All Might, I might've been ready sooner."

Asta ruffled Izuku's hair. "Can't do nothing to change it now."

"Yeah…"

It took six days of their after-dinner conversations for Izuku to finish his story, right up until the day before he died. And they both knew they were avoiding the day. Revisiting the day you died wasn't something someone wanted to do. Even Naruto, Ichigo, Yusuke, Goku and anyone whose story Izuku heard had gotten that faraway look in their eyes when it came to their deaths.

That day/evening, they were sitting on the benches eating a bento box that Asta made. Asta had taken to cooking lessons from Miss Makoto and Miss Hinata at the small community center that he and Izuku had recently discovered. Izuku was glad to see that other than the basic classes, like math, science, writing and reading comprehension, there was so massive creativity in this town. Izuku had taken to a book club himself.

"I think we should tell each other about the day we died," said Asta. "I wasn't gonna but I want to now."

"It would be fair, since we already traded so much of our stories," said Izuku, even if he kept one or two moments between him and Kacchan and him and Ochako out of the overall story. "And it'd be lethargic to get out. So that someone knows."

"I'll go first."

* * *

Notes:

Next month, the two chapters will cover how Asta and Izuku both died!


	11. Chapter 11 Wizard King Asta

(The Day Asta Died)

BE WARNED!  
Non-descript Character Death Ahead!

* * *

_**FLASHBACK**_

**Clover Kingdom**  
**Formerly Known as the Noble Realm, Currently Known as Nova Realm**  
**Capital City**  
**Magic Knights Headquarters**  
**The 6th Anniversary of Asta Becoming Wizard King**

Asta sighed as he entered the Captains' Meeting Room and saw that Zora and Kirsch were fighting again; Yuno was late; Rill angered Langris; Noelle and Sol were sending angry looks as Sekke, while Leo laughed like an idiot and did nothing to stop them. They hadn't noticed him enter the room, and he thought about disappearing, but Secre was right behind him with her signature deadpan look that made him not retreat on the pain of more paperwork (which seemed to multiply at an unbelievable rate).

"And these are my Captains that are supposed to aid me in changing the Clover Kingdom for the better," said Asta, sarcasm seeping into his tone. Asta had never perfected the art of the indoor voice, so they heard him loud and clear. Every one of his Captains calmed down and sat in their seats. He wondered, not for the first time, how Lord Julius managed his group of Captains so well. "Where's Yuno?"

"He was here," said Noelle, the Captain of the Silver Eagles. "But he got a message from Mimosa. It seemed urgent."

Asta knew that if Yuno had a reason, he'd say it later. "Fine, let's start without Yuno for now." He went to the Wizard King's chair, which was still weird even after six years of being in the position. "So, is everyone ready for the big announcement?"

Today was a big day. Not only was the Capital hosting a birthday celebration for their new King but also celebrating Asta becoming Wizard King. The new King was the previous, useless King's oldest son. The new King was a lot better and less spoiled. It was a good thing that the new King had Nozel Silva and Fuegoleon Vermillion to advise him. In addition to the celebrations, the Magic Knights were going to announce the opening of the Magic Knights' Academy.

"This is gonna piss off a whole lotta people," said Zora, the Captain of the Black Bulls.

"We got the new King's approval, so that's half the battle," countered Kirsch, the Captain of the Coral Peacocks.

"It still remains that many people _especially_ around these parts still hold to their prejudices, so a magic school available to all children regardless of where they were born and how much _mana_ they have might not go over well," said Langris, the Captain of the Purple Orcas.

"It's the same back and forth that we've been discussing for the last two years," said Leo. "This is the best option. We need more well-trained Magic Knights."

"Exactly right," said Asta.

"And even if some don't wind up being Magic Knights, we have other areas where we need skilled wizards," said Noelle. "Like the Magic Item Research field."

"It's pretty much a given that we're gonna get some heat from this, but since we're announcing when it's supposed to be a party, I think it'll hurt less," said Sekke. "Kirsch, is Captain Dorothy ready with the academy building?"

"Yep, it's in the Glamour World, all built and ready to go," said Kirsch. Though Dorothy Unsworth and the other Captains who had been in charge of the current Captains (Asta's Captains), old habits die hard and they still were called by their old title despite being retired. "We just have to wait for Yuno to come back and we can get on with it."

"No need, I'm back," said Yuno, flying through the window. Yuno, as the Captain of the Golden Dawn, was still as perfectly handsome and cool as ever. "There were some rabble-rousers that needed to be cleaned up. Don't you have a speech to do, like five minutes ago, to introduce the King, Asta?"

Asta looked at Secre, who scowled when she realized that they were, in fact, late. It seemed that the conversation got away from them. Asta wasted no time to hurry, with Secre and his Captains rushing after him because they were all supposed to be there.

By the time they arrived at the entrance to the balcony where the new King, Constantine, waiting behind the curtain, Asta heard the crowd calling for the Magic Knight Captains. Thankfully, King Constantine was only 21-years-old and he looked up to Asta and the Magic Knights as a whole so King Constantine wasn't annoyed, though he was nervously standing there next to his relative, the scales guy from Magic Parliament who still hated Asta's guts. Asta smiled apologetically. "Sorry, we're late. We were discussing the big announcement."

"Yeah, that's fine," said King Constantine, grimacing. "The crowd really wants to see you guys and not me."

Asta grinned. "No worries, Con, it'll be fine."

He stepped outside and the cheers began. Using a magic device to increase the sound of his voice, Asta spoke, "Thank you everyone for coming to celebrate! Today is our King Constantine Kira Clover I's birthday and the anniversary of the day I became Wizard King! The citizens of the Clover Kingdom's support means the world to us and know that the Magic Knights and the Royalty of the Kingdom will do everything to provide and protect everyone, no matter where they were born or how much magic they have. Now, please, put your hands together to cheer for the birthday boy!"

Noelle and Yuno practically shoved the 21-year-old King out from his hiding spot. Asta smiled encouragingly.

As the King spoke, Asta motioned for his Captains to join him on the balcony. "And the Magic Knights have a big announcement before you enjoy the rest of the party!"

It was Asta's cue to get back to center stage and make the announcement of the Magic Knights' Academy, when he sensed the spike of devil _Ki_. Immediately pulling his Demon Dweller and his Demon Slayer Swords out of his black clover grimoire, as Langris opened a portal to get the King out of harm's way.

But the King wasn't the target.

Asta was and whatever hit his Demon Dweller Sword caused it to split. Asta yelled orders, "Langris, Sekke, protect the King! Zora, Sol, Kirsch, crowd control. Yuno, Noelle, Rill, Leo, with me, it's a devil."

"Asta! Are you ok," asked Noelle as Asta put away the remains of his one sword and took out his Demon Destroyer Sword. He still had two swords left.

"Fine. I swear, how many more devils we gotta defeat," stated Asta, more to himself than anyone else. The Magic Knight Captains went into action (except Langris who was long gone as ordered).

It took several hours and a clash against the Queen of Devils (according to the demon in Asta's grimoire, who voiced his complaints in Asta's ears the entire time), but the day was salvaged and only part of the wall to the castle was destroyed this time. They've suffered worse damage from the Elves and from the Spade Kingdom's Triad.

Asta stood on the battlefield and surveyed the damage. Yuno and Noelle stood by him. They were all dirty and bloody. "Guess the announcement was gonna have to wait for another day."

"Let's just do a newspaper announcement and see if anyone notices," said Noelle, joking.

"Heh," said Asta.

And then, Asta's arms became numb. He had problems before with his arms, many times, but they've never gone numb. He dropped both his swords, metal clashing against stones.

"Asta," shouted Yuno, as Asta lost control of his body and fell to the ground.

He blacked out for a minute, but when he awoke his head was laying in Noelle's lap with Yuno examining Asta with a strained look on his face. "Shhh," said Noelle, soothingly, though he knew her long enough that she was crying already. "We're getting a healer."

"Asta, whatever broke your sword earlier," said Yuno, voice breaking, "it lodged in your chest. It's a curse. Just stay calm."

Asta laughed with a wheeze, when he realized that he was dying, that his two best friends were watching him die and he hadn't realized it the entire time. "I'm calm."

"Don't joke," said Noelle, angrily, but not really angry.

"I'm not," said Asta, relieved that he could still smile at Noelle and Yuno. "Yuno, take over for me, will you? There's still a lot of work left. And Noelle, make sure you keep him on track…" He stopped hearing Noelle and Yuno, even though he knew they were speaking. Yuno was crying and Noelle was sobbing. He sensed Secre and Grey arriving, but they were too late to stop whatever the Queen of Devils did to him.

"_**Kid, our luck ran out this time."**_

There were many things he still needed to do. There were things he needed to say to his friends, to his family.

But he suspected they knew.

With the Anti-Magic devil in his ear apologizing and the strong arms of Noelle and Yuno around him, Asta smiled for one last time.

What a life.

* * *

Notes:

Let me know what you think!

Next chapter will be out oct 21st


	12. Chapter 12 Number 1 Hero Deku

Summary:

The day that Deku died

* * *

Chapter 12: Number 1 Hero Deku

_**FLASHBACK**_

**Yuuei Boarding School – The Middle School**

"Come on, damn Deku, we're gonna be late for the opening," shouted Kacchan, banging on the bathroom while Izuku calmed himself down as he had to give a speech.

"Hold on," shouted Izuku back at his best friend and hero partner. At 28, Izuku was part of the number one hero duo with Kacchan as the Wonder Duo. After a long battle against Shigaraki and the Paranormal Liberation Front that started the end of Izuku's first year of high school and lasted until Izuku was 22 years old. The battle of attrition between the two forces caused many deaths on both sides, as well as some betrayals (ones unexpected and ones not). For six years, things have been peaceful.

And today was a big day for Yuuei. In order to fix the broken system that failed many people to the point that they became villains because they didn't have the support they needed, Yuuei High School was opening a Middle School branch as part of the pilot program. Between all the red tape and the corruption of the Hero system in general, it was a long fought battle by the alumni of Yuuei High.

Izuku and his graduating class fought and fought—because they were taught that being heroes wasn't always about defeating the villains, but preventing people from becoming villains in the first place.

Izuku exited the bathroom to find his irate partner, glaring at him. "Calm down, Kacchan."

"Don't tell me what to do," said Kacchan, scoffing.

"You're 28, Kacchan, grow up a bit," said Izuku, teasing.

"Careful, Deku, or I might defeat you in our next sparring match," said Kacchan, cockily. While Kacchan had grown up since his teenage years, his and Izuku's rivalry hadn't died when they became hero partners. In fact, their rivalry was intense as ever, much to everyone's irritation.

Rolling his eyes, Izuku walked toward where a temporary stage was set up for the big speech. Kacchan trailed behind Izuku, because Deku did the PR stuff, so Kacchan didn't technically have to be there. But Izuku knew that Kacchan was there for moral support, which was something Kacchan wouldn't have done as a teenager.

"Deku! We're ready for you once Hawks stops talking," said Yaoyorozu Momo, aka Creati, who ran the event for the Twin Stars Hero Agency (the Wonder Duo and their friends' agency). Hawks, the former number two hero, was the new Principal of the Middle School.

"Please tell me someone edited Hawks' speech," asked Izuku, worried. Izuku respected Hawks, but Hawks didn't exactly know how to toe the line between appropriate and inappropriate. The last thing they needed was someone taking something Hawks said out of context.

"Don't worry, Iida's brother did," said Creati, smiling. "So, you ready?"

"Of course," said Izuku, with all his normal enthusiasm.

It took another ten minutes before Hawks got to the end of his speech and another three minutes before Hawks got dragged off the stage since everyone wanted to see Deku and not Hawks. Deku's popularity wasn't surprising with the middle school and elementary school crowds and of course, parents.

Deku stepped on stage and went to the podium.

He hated speaking so formally, but All Might was the best at inspiring speeches, so Deku wasn't gonna back down.

"Hero Deku is here!"

"Woooooo!"

"Thanks, Red Riot," laughed Deku. He smiled his award-winning hero smile. "Today, we're here to promote not only a new school, but a place where students' mental health and happiness are the first priority. Too many people with powerful and misunderstood quirks get hurt because they're different. In this world with heroes, that's unacceptable. This is the first step to a better future, one where the children who need the most help aren't lost amongst the crowd, who won't get overlooked because members of society that "oh, it's not my problem, someone else will help." We can all be a little heroic by not looking the other way and doing something about the situation."

The crowd clapped.

"All Might was the pillar of Peace for many years, and we'll continue to protect those that need it, but we all need to work together to make sure that one day, heroes won't be needed because they're won't be anymore villains."

And at that moment, his words meant nothing because there was an explosive. It was good that Deku's friends were there, so there were many Pro-Heroes in the crowd. Deku and Kacchan, the Wonder Duo, went into action, while the others worked on moving the civilians. Out of the wreckage, there stepped forward a man that Izuku didn't recognize.

"Hero Deku, this is for Shigaraki Tomura!"

Nuts.

He was a follower of Shigaraki.

"How did we miss one of 'em," roared Kacchan, who voiced Izuku's exact thought.

"Worry later, defeat him now."

Ultimately, the heroes were victorious. No civilian deaths and the school was unscathed and it was easily fixed. It was the third toughest fight of his life.

"Shit, Deku, that's a lot of blood," said Kacchan. Kacchan was holding Izuku upright and dragging him over to where the first-aid responders arrived. "The fuck you were thinking, idiot, getting hit so many times."

"Sorry, Kacchan." Izuku coughed. And because he knew his own body, because he already broke it so many times before, Izuku knew that he needed blood transfusions, but it'd be difficult with his six quirks from One-For-All.

"Fool," Izuku's best friend said again, but out of worry.

Izuku laughed, as Kacchan deposited Izuku at the back of an ambulance, and medics swarmed Izuku in worry. Kacchan's furrowed brows let Izuku know that Kacchan was a bit more than concerned. Did Izuku look that bad?

"_**Midoriya Izuku, it's time, son."**_

Izuku suddenly was staring at the face of the first user of One-For-All, the brother of All-For-One. He barely heard the medics, or them taking off parts of his uniform to get to the injuries, or Kacchan screaming profanities for them to work faster. Something was very, very wrong. He messed up badly this time, didn't he?

"Is it?"

"_**Give it to him. There's not much time."**_

"Kacchan," Izuku called out to his childhood friend. He was able to lift his hand and made a grabby motion.

"Deku, shut up and let them work," said Kacchan. His words aside, Kacchan, stood next to the gurney and held Izuku's hand.

"Kacchan, I'm giving it to you," said Izuku, softly.

This startled Kacchan. He whispered, "What? Deku, the fuck you talking about…No, Deku, you ain't dying yet. I still haven't beat ya."

"Kacchan," said Izuku, sternly. Their eyes met, like the time on the island so many years ago when he lent his quirk to Kacchan the first time. This time was gonna be permanent. Red eyes widened in realization, but quickly turned into a glare, and tears were forming. Izuku smiled. "It's gonna be ok, Kacchan. You can do anything. You're my hero."

With a choked sob, Kacchan brought Izuku's bloodied hand to his lips and kissed them. "I'm gonna kick your ass when I see you in the afterlife. Nerd."

"I'll hold you to it, Kacchan."

* * *

_**THE AFTERLIFE**_

"And then I woke up in the forest and met you," said Izuku, wiping his face of stray tears.

Immediately, Asta hugged Izuku. Izuku let him. It was sweet.

"We just gotta make the best of it," said Izuku, closing his eyes for a brief moment and enjoying the hug.

"And we will. We'll do it together, how's that sound," said Asta, pulling away from the hug and smiling brightly at Izuku.

"Like a great idea, Asta. Truly."


	13. Chapter 13 Friendly Advice Pt 1

NOTE:  
THREE YEAR TIME SKIP IN THE AFTERLIFE  
Time is funny there

* * *

Today was one of those days that Asta felt like he was running for days. Sleeping was part of his afterlife routine even if he didn't need it, but when he woke up, he was hit with the strong longing of his family. He had shoved some food in his mouth on his way to the Son Farm. And if Goku noticed Asta's strange mood, he didn't say anything as the two worked the fields. Between the two of them, they always got the work done quickly.

Asta still declined Goku's requests for a spar. He had seen the other man use his Instant Transmission and his Ki senses to track down some of the troublesome children and teens down. Asta had also seen the Ki blasts that Goku used to cook big slabs of meat. Asta didn't know if he could die again, but he didn't want to find out.

"So, are ya havin' an off day," asked Goku, as the two sat down to eat lunch—Goku with much more food than Asta.

"I guess," said Asta, eating his rice, while his heart did that lurching thing when something reminded him of someone in his family. The way Goku ate reminded him so much of Charmy. Charmy would have gotten along well with the food-loving, kind-hearted Saiyan warrior.

The key to the afterlife was a routine. Everyone here had been considered "heroes," often never having time to rest. Asta made sure to sleep 8 hours, ate three meals a day (he ate breakfast alone, he ate lunch with Goku, and he ate dinner with Izuku), and he made sure to take random classes to learn new skills or brush up on old ones. Asta made it his mission to get to know everyone. And even though he didn't need to, Asta still trained.

No Anti-Magic Devil, no grimoire, and no Anti-Magic Swords weren't a problem since his magic had been never giving up and his body was his weapon.

Asta knew every single person in this afterlife trained, some more subtly than others.

"Asta," said Goku, thoughtfully. "I think you're bored."

"I'm not. I'm keeping busy," said Asta, protesting.

Goku gave him what he heard that Naruto and Ichigo called "the Dad look." Granted, he was certain that Naruto and Ichigo also have that look sometimes. Asta never had the pleasure of being a dad, so he assumed that it was some dad power you got when you became a dad. "Keeping busy doesn't mean that you're not bored. Why do you think I visit Grand Kai's planet or get to visit Chi-Chi? Changes things up a bit."

Asta made a face.

"And I suspect that your old teacher winding up here didn't help. Since you got news from home," said Goku.

Asta sighed. Asta's sword teacher Fanzell Kruger just arrived in town several weeks ago and Asta had learned about the updates on everyone. Yuno became the Wizard King after him with Mimosa taking over the Golden Dawn as Captain. And Noelle got married. It made sense as it had been apparently three years since Asta died. Time was different here and granted, Fanzell didn't know much details, just rumors he heard on his travels. Asta didn't want to bug too much since Fanzell was highly depressed. The man missed Dominante, Mariella, Fana and Mars (they had become one big family).

"Does it ever get easier," Asta asked.

"No," said Goku, truthfully. "You're not tied to one spot, Asta. This afterlife is a lot bigger than you think it is."

What Goku said had Asta thinking. Asta had always enjoyed traveling. He was mulling it over when he met up with Izuku outside the Uzumaki Ramen Stand. Something on his face must have shown because Izuku immediately asked what was wrong.

"Nothing much, just thinking,'" said Asta.

Izuku smiled encouragingly. "Well, I'm all ears when you wanna talk."

"So, how's your friend Shinsou," asked Asta, changing the subject. He and Izuku's quick friendship upon their friendly first meeting developed into a true companionship. There were times that Asta wished that he had Izuku with him on his adventures back in the Clover Kingdom.

"He's not handling things well," said Izuku, sighing. Fanzell wasn't the only new person. Izuku's friend Shinsou Hitoshi arrived two days ago. "He's still locked in the room at the clinic, thinking that this is a quirk gone wrong." Asta knew that Izuku had been at his friend's side, trying to help. It was hard on Izuku just as much as Shinsou. "But he ate something since Miss Orihime looked like she was gonna cry."

Asta half-smiled. "He'll come around, Izuku."

"I know. He's strong," said Izuku, believing wholeheartedly in his friend. And that was one of the many reasons why Asta liked Izuku.

"Hey, boys, are you gonna sit and eat or stand and chat all night," asked Naruto, grinning at them from behind the counter. Miss Hinata was already making bowls for them.

Asta and Izuku took their seats. Odd Jobs Gintoki was there for once, eating in public. He was also drinking again. He was sitting next to Ace, a pirate, who was fast asleep in the middle of eating his seventh bowl of ramen.

"If it isn't my upstart juniors," said Gintoki, in a teasing greeting. Half the things that came out of Gin's mouth, Asta didn't understand and he knew that no one really got what Gin said. But Asta knew that Gin liked them in his own weird way. Gin smacked Ace upside the head. "Oi, Ace, you're gonna drown in the ramen broth again! Idiot pirate!"

Ace woke up and half-heartedly tried to jab his chopstick in Gin's eye. "So loud." Ace was super cool. He had neat tattoos and a ton of stories about his time as a pirate and about his beloved little brother Luffy, who Ace had died protecting. Everyone knew the story. Ace wasn't shy about it. Ace finally noticed Asta and Izuku. "Hey, guys."

Asta was in cooking classes with Ace and Izuku tutored Ace with reading and writing. Asta grinned and said, "Gintoki is right, Ace. Don't drown in your food."

Ace made a face. "Uhhh, I won't."

"At least there's a line of people ready and willing to give you CPR," said Naruto, laughing. Gin burst out laughing obnoxiously, while Ace's face became red and sputtered denials.

Izuku smiled, giggling.

Asta grinned. Like he once told Yuno, since they were orphans, friends were family. While he missed his living family, he had a new one with a lot of strange but good people.

While he ate dinner, Asta knew that he had something difficult to decide. Asta felt someone watching him and looked to find that Izuku was staring at him with a blank expression on his face. The arguing between Gin and Ace with a meditating Naruto became background noise when Asta met Izuku's green eyes. They had different shades of green for their eye colors. Izuku's were like the forest, while Asta knew his was more teal.

"You ok," asked Izuku, softly.

"Yeah, I will be."


	14. Chapter 14 Friendly Advice Pt 2

Izuku missed Kacchan and everyone else that much was a given.

This especially hit him hard when Shinsou Hitoshi, a friend of his from Yuuei, came wandering into the No-Name Town just as Izuku had experienced. Unfortunately, Shinsou hadn't come to the terms that he was dead, thinking that seeing Izuku was some sort of quirk. But Izuku knew that Shinsou would come to realize the truth. While Shinsou mainly shouted at Izuku, he learned that Kacchan was the Number 1 Hero, Shouto was the Number Two Hero and his friends were surviving.

After he had his dinner with Izuku, Ace, and Gintoki, Izuku went back to the Kurosaki Clinic where he spent the majority of his time. If he wasn't teaching, he was helping organize the books that Ichigo and Orihime collected.

Izuku was thankful for the routine. He ate breakfast with the other former OFA holders. He ate lunch at Miss Makoto's shop with Tsuna and any number of people that swarmed the place. He worked throughout the day, helping with Ichigo with teaching, lesson plans and organizing things for the people to do.

Dinner with Asta was the best part of the day. Perhaps it was that they arrived at the same time or that they held the same ideals, or maybe it was just Izuku's ability to be drawn to loud blonds with hearts of gold or that they had easily gotten along which was a good foundation for a good friendship. In truth, it was probably all of these things. Asta was easily Izuku's best friend here. Though no one could replace Kacchan, Ochako, Iida and Shouto in reality, Asta was just so warm and bright.

Which is why when Asta had been unusually quiet at dinner with a pensive look on his face, Izuku knew that Asta must be considering leaving. Izuku had considered leaving to see the rest of the Heroes' Afterlife, but leaving All Might, Tsuna, Nana, Asta, Naruto, Gin, Ace, Miss Makoto, Ichigo and everyone seemed like it'd be too hard since Izuku came to rely on them all. Being dead wasn't easy, but at least, they were all in the same situation.

At the Kurosaki Clinic, he sat outside of the room Shinsou locked himself in. He stared at the door and said, loudly, "Shinsou! It's me again. Just let me know when you're ready to come out and talk."

To his surprise, the door opened. Shinsou, who had grown to look more and more like Aizawa every day (mainly looking exhausted and scruffy), stared down at Izuku. "I'm really dead. And this is the afterlife," Shinsou stated, blankly.

Izuku nodded. He said, "Yeah, I'm sorry, Shinsou."

"Fuck."

"That's generally the mood when you realize you're dead," said Izuku, sympathetically.

"I can't believe I was the second one of our generation to die," complained Shinsou. But then he smirked and said, "But I missed your dumb face, Deku."

Izuku stood up and hugged Shinsou. "I missed you too!"

"Uhhh, affection," said Shinsou, but made no move to get out of the hug. "I guess I should tell you some stuff…"

"That can wait," said Izuku. "The stories aren't going anywhere. We should get you some food. You want ramen?"

"Ramen sounds good."

Once Shinsou was fed and taken to the spare room at Nana's house, Izuku was glad that Shinsou was on the path to handling being dead. Restlessness set in, however, and he decided to take a walk. While it was never night, it was the designated time decided upon to be "night." (It wasn't even a day either. Goku said this place reminded him of something called the Hyperbolic Time Chamber). The town was quiet since it was "night," though Izuku wasn't the only one doing some wandering.

Izuku found himself at the edge of town where he once entered with Asta at least three years ago. To his surprise, he found Asta doing pullups on one of the trees. Izuku laughed and asked, "Are you that bored?"

Asta stopped doing pullups on the branch and jumped down. Asta was happy to see Izuku. He had a big smile on his face. "Izuku! Can't sleep. You?"

"Same," said Izuku.

Without saying, they continued walking back through town. Their easy companionship made Izuku feel comfortable.

"I'm gonna leave," said Asta, suddenly.

Izuku had his suspicions, but to hear it, it made Izuku suddenly very sad. "Yeah?"

"I love it here, but I want to see this afterlife, maybe find a place to start my own farm," said Asta. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Having eternity is pretty crazy."

Izuku nodded in understanding. Being dead meant dead forever. Impulsively, Izuku asked, "Can I come with you?"

Asta looked startled, but then grinned widely. "Heck yeah! It'll be fun. And we can always come back whenever."

Izuku smiled. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but if Asta was going brave the afterlife world, then Izuku should too. Who knew what they'd find out there?


	15. Chapter 15 Quest To Find the Perfect

Summary:

Asta and Izuku's journey begins...

* * *

Chapter 15: Quest: To Find the Perfect Tato Farm Pt. 1

Once Asta made up his mind, he went all out to accomplish his goal. Izuku agreeing to travel with Asta was just an added bonus. Asta would get lonely. They spent the next few weeks gathering information and supplies to take with them on their journey. Just like everything else, everyone in town was super supportive. Many of the people there had done the whole journey thing before so they were well aware what Asta and Izuku would need on their trip. Other than preparing, Asta and Izuku had some loose ends to finish up in town. Asta finished up some work on Goku's farm, while Izuku convinced his friend Shinsou to take over Izuku's teaching assistant duties.

Before they knew it, Asta and Izuku were at the edge of the town (opposite of where they entered) with the entire town there to see them off. While Izuku was busy being fussed over by All Might, Miss Nana, Tsuna, Ichigo, and Orihime, Asta was surrounded by Acier, Lumiére, Licht, Goku, Naruto, Hinata, and Ace. Acier hugged Asta. "Take care of yourself, Asta. And look after Izuku, I think he's a city boy."

Asta laughed, as Acier hugged the life out of him (just like Noelle did with her hugs). "Yeah, I will. Thanks for everything, Miss Acier. I'll come and visit. I'm sure there are stories about Noelle that I forgot to tell you."

"Have fun on your journey," said Lumiére, smiling.

"I hope you find what you're looking for, Asta," said Licht, in a way that suggested that he knew something Asta didn't. _Elves,_ mused Asta, fondly.

"Hey, Acier, it's my turn," said Naruto, arms crossed. Hinata patted Naruto on the arm, attempting to soothe her husband. "Don't hog Asta."

"Here, here," said Ace.

Acier pouted but let Asta go. "Fine."

Immediately, Asta got grabbed up into a bear hug, courtesy of Naruto. Asta couldn't help but laugh. "I'll be back to eat you and Miss Hinata's ramen."

"You'd better. If you run into my friends Sasuke and Sakura out there, they'll help you out if you tell them you know me," said Naruto, releasing Asta from his hug.

After Naruto, there was a whole line of people reading and willing to give Asta hugs. Asta hadn't smiled so much in a long time. It was like he always told Yuno—friends were family for guys like them.

"Guys, we gotta go or we'll be here for hours," exclaimed Izuku, who had laughter in his voice.

Asta smiled widely. "We'll visit. Don't worry!"

Reluctantly, Izuku and Asta were allowed to go off and begin their traveling journey with no destination.

Naturally, it took them some time to get away from their no-name town and their friends, but eventually, Asta and Izuku got into a groove, walking along the dirt path of those who traveled before them. Izuku and Asta spoke about who and what they would miss, but Asta had some thoughts on what he wanted to do for this journey.

In a lapse in their conversation, as they enjoyed the scenery, Asta said, "Did you know that because I didn't have magic that Father Orsi wanted me to forget about being a Magic Knight and just be a tato farmer? He said it so I wouldn't be disappointed."

"But it never crossed your mind to be anything other than the Wizard King," said Izuku. "Just like me with being a Hero. So, why are you bringing this up?"

"Well, I do like farming and tatoes, so I think that I want to find a nice open area and build a farm. I'd like the quiet. I grew up in a village that was pretty quiet, though I eventually wound up in the Capital," Asta said. "According to what Goku told me that there's like unlimited areas."

"And we don't want to be so far away from All Might and the rest," said Izuku. "That's a good goal. But do you know what kind of soil and things you need for potatoes?"

"Tatoes," Asta corrected, "but yeah, I do. Like I said, tatoes was Hage Village's main staple."

Izuku shook his head as if he was amused. "I'm not calling them the wrong name."

"Tatoes, Izuku! They're tatoes. I swear, this is just like Finral and Noelle all over again!"

Izuku laughed.

* * *

Several days of walking and camping, Asta and Izuku came upon another town. They hadn't known that there was another town so close by theirs! It was similar in its layout and design. The only difference was the people there. They entered the town, Asta trailing ahead of Izuku a bit. Curious, Asta watched as the people in town greeted them, politely.

"Hiya! Welcome. You must be from nearer to the docks," said a cheerful voice. A pretty green-eyed, brown-haired woman (maybe in her 30s, but she had a youthful appearance so who knew) with a kind smile waved at Asta and Izuku. She was manning a food stand, though instead of ramen, it was stir-fry.

"Hi," said Asta. Asta introduced himself and Izuku.

The woman said, "I'm Kinomoto Sakura. Come and eat. Syaoran, get some plates ready for these guys!"

"Yeah, got it, Sakura!"

Asta and Izuku put their backpacks on the ground and took seats. Asta said, "Yeah, we're traveling now."

"Ahh, so you showed up to Miss Yuuko's town," said Sakura, smiling. "Although, it's not really her town. She's just the person Syaoran and I know there."

"Are you magic too? Like Miss Yuuko," asked Asta, eyes shining. Though he never had magic, he always loved seeing the different kinds of magic. There were endless possibilities of learning about other world's different kinds of magic.

"Yep," said Sakura, bashfully.

"Asta was the Wizard King on his world," said Izuku. "Though he didn't have any magic."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Ahh! You're from Lumiere's world. He's a silly fellow! Reminds me a lot of Clow Reed, though he's a lot less mysterious. I was pretty shocked to find out about the worlds with the different kinds of magic myself. Have you met Natsu yet? He's got some dragon magic."

"No way," said Asta, eyes shining. "That sounds so cool."

"Sakura, Natsu's away traveling himself, remember," said the man from earlier, coming out of the backroom with two plates of stir-fry. He was a bit taller than Sakura. They were clearly husband and wife. Asta grinned. "Xiaolang Li, but you can call me Syaoran or Li."

"Thanks for the food," said Asta and Izuku, taking the plates gratefully.

"If you're gonna stay a few days, there's a hotel. Run by a guy called Vash," said Syaoran.

Asta munched thoughtfully on his food. Staying a few days would be fun. They can meet so many new people. "What do you think, Izuku? Wanna check out this town for a few days?"

Izuku nodded. "I saw some interesting stores. We have all the time in the world."

Asta grinned. "Thanks for the info, Miss Sakura, Mr. Li."

After Asta and Izuku finished their meal, they followed the directions given to them by Syaoran to the hotel run by Vash. Vash was a tall, blond-haired man who greeted them happily when Asta and Izuku entered the lobby. "Welcome! What're your names? Two rooms or one?"

"Two," answered Asta. As much as Asta didn't mind sharing, he didn't want to wake up Izuku with his nightmares. "I'm Asta, this is Izuku. We're traveling. I was an anti-magic wizard and Izuku was a Pro-Hero."

Vash looked impressed. "Sounds crazy. But I got two great rooms. How many days do you think you're staying?"

"Like a week," said Izuku, guessing.

"Sounds good to me," said Asta, nodding.

A couple of hours later, Asta and Izuku found themselves at a bar in town. They hadn't either been drinkers in their lives, but they heard a commotion and went to investigate. Asta was impressed to find that there was a pink-haired woman arm-wrestling whomever challenged her.

Izuku pulled out his notebook and said, "I think that might be Naruto's friend, Uchiha Sakura."

"You two know, Naruto," asked a calm voice.

Asta and Izuku startled as they didn't realize that the black-haired, tall man, wearing a cloak actually spoke. Asta traded looks with Izuku. Asta replied, "Yeah. He's a friend of ours."

The man glanced at Asta and Izuku and had the audacity to smirk. He said, "Of course, you are. That's Naruto for you. Name's Uchiha Sasuke and yes, that's my wife currently beating Bo-bobo."

"Why is she?"

"Because she got challenged," responded Sasuke.

Asta hid a smile. "So, Naruto said that you two travel together often."

"Yeah, we're actually on the way to go see him and Hinata," said Sasuke. "Well, Sakura wanted to go visit."

"Talking about me," asked Sakura, grinning victoriously as she walked over to where her husband stood.

"Naruto's friends," said Sasuke, pointing at Asta and Izuku.

Sakura blinked once and then she let out a laugh. There was some sort of in-joke about Naruto between Sasuke and Sakura and Asta didn't seem to get it. Sakura said, "He never changed. That's our Naruto for you. So, did he forget to give you a map?"

Asta gapped.

Izuku asked, "There's a map?!"

Sakura and Sasuke both sighed sighs of long-suffering friends. Sakura bemoaned. "He forgot to give it to Ichigo! I knew we should have given it to Hinata. Or just directly to Ichigo."

"It's our fault. You'd think we'd know better after all this time," said Sasuke, as pulled out a piece of paper. "Here. It's a copy of the map. It's not everything, but it's everywhere that Sakura and I have been."

Izuku took the map, because Asta knew that it'd be safer with Izuku than himself. "Thank you so much. This is very helpful."

"Yes, thank you very much," said Asta, nodding his head.

"Not a problem," said Sakura, smiling softly.

A week later, a map in hand and a half-baked goal in mind, Asta and Izuku departed the town after enjoying spending time with the people of this particular town (called Town Two, not very original but distinct from the No-Name Town where they came from). Asta felt better on this journey than he did when he was just in the town. He wondered if it just met that he was so restless.

But this wasn't the time to dwell since he had a goal in mind, as Asta and Izuku trekked through the Hero's Afterlife.

"Hey, there's a mountain," said Izuku, cheerfully, pointing at the map that Sasuke gave them.

Asta grinned. "Let's go!"

* * *

Please let me know what you think!

Cameos:

Kinomoto Sakura and Syaoran Li from Cardcaptor Sakura and other CLAMP works  
Vash the Stampede from Trigun  
Bo-bobo from Bo Bobo Bobobo (whew, what a thing to write!)  
Uchiha Sasuke and Uchiha/Haruno Sakura from Naruto


End file.
